Jennifer Craw and the Paintings of Twilight 15
by jcwriter
Summary: Heritage Series 1. A strange infection is plaguing many of the paintings of Hogwarts, obscuring them in an unexplainable fog. Can Jennifer and Pyther find the cause before Hogwarts is changed forever?
1. The Headmaster's Wife

_A/N Welcome everyone to the Jennifer Craw Heritage Series. With the exception of Severus, this series focuses almost entirely on original characters, with the JK's becoming more and more background characters as their descendants take over the spotlight. If you're not interested in how the OC's are getting along you might not enjoy it so much, although I wonder how you got through my last fourteen if you don't._

_This will be the last series; because it'll be open ended. This is the fifteenth Jennifer Craw book (the first being Jennifer Craw and the Phoenix Wand, and alternate Harry year five.) There are also three short mysteries that occur in between (the first three novellettes in the Headmaster Snape mystery series.)_

_Here are some tidbits for those who skipped the Snape shortstories:  
Eight and a half years have past since the end of book fourteen. Ambrose, quite his father's son, snuck into Hogwarts early and at the ripe age of eight is entering his second year of Hogwarts as a Hufflepuff. Jennifer (much to Severus' dismay) got enamored with the magic talents of a young girl born in El Barrio of New York, living off the streets because of a tragic family history. The young Gryffindor is entering her second year at Hogwarts, although has had problems adjusting to her new life. Also of note, Severus and Alicia have signed a cease fire after a curse caused Alicia to lose her eyesight for a short time and Severus was instrumental in having it restored. She has not met Pyther yet and we learn in the book why that is. That's about all you need to know to get started._

_If you've never read my series and just wanted to take a gander: It has been almost thirty years since the defeat of Voldemort. Umbridge never made it to Hogwarts...Dumbledore called in Jennifer before that could happen...and nothing that took place afterwards ends up the same. Family ties are also different (at the point of book four none of those were explored.) Other than that, Severus Snape is the legitimate Headmaster of Hogwarts now after Dumbledore's retirement on the merits of his defeat of Ciardoth, an evil fae who attempted to destroy time itself. Most of the old staff has moved on or retired, and Severus, although a decent Headmaster, isn't exactly happy with his new job or the state of his family, which is in constant state of disarray._

_Such is life in Jennifer's world. Anyhow, hope you like my new book. JCWriter._

Chapter One

The Headmaster's Wife

It was the almost the beginning of Headmaster Snape's ninth year at Hogwarts; and Jennifer for one could hardly wait to get back. Summers were always difficult now that Severus spent most of it at the school, but fortunately his appointment book tended to schedule her needs over everyone else wanting to see the Headmaster, and she could at least expect one meal with him four or five times a week.

Of course, it wasn't that she hadn't plenty to do at home these days. Their adopted daughter, Fortuna "Lucky" Snape, was prone to get into trouble when she didn't have anything to do. Football camp, forced reading time, and locking up every deck of cards in the house had gone a long way to curb that mischief.

She also spent quite a bit of her time fussing over her oldest daughter Alexandria, now four months along on what would be Jennifer and Severus' first blood grandchild. Living in the same house gave Jennifer plenty of opportunities to spoil her, and Alex tolerated it with understanding, even agreeing to name their first after Jennifer's side of the family.

"Let's see, well the girl's name would be Jennifer, that much is clear," Alex said out loud as she sat at the living room desk. Jennifer was busy going through her trunks and going over her checklist, wondering if she missed anything. "But I still haven't decided on a boy's name."

"As long as you don't use Thomas or Mallus, pick any name you like," Jennifer said, repacking her Cloak Chest.

"How about Icarus?" Alex suggested, only half joking. Jennifer stood up, staring at her.

"Alexandria, don't you dare," Jennifer frowned at her. Ben went over to the desk, looking over Alexandria's short list.

"I think I like Janus best out of those names," Ben said.

"Any objections, Mum?" Alex asked.

"None that come to mind, although you might consider checking with him first," Jennifer said distractedly, glancing at her watch. She closed up her trunk and went over to the stairs. "Lucky! Time for the shopping run! Don't forget your coat, it's raining!"

Jennifer paused to slip on her own gloves and coat, and a moment later heard footsteps clopping down the stairs. The twelve-year old girl had her wire black hair in an unkempt tail, but otherwise looked turned out enough to suit Jennifer's pickiness.

"We're taking Ambrose too, _sí?_" Lucky asked.

"Yes, we'll hit Corey's first and pick him up there," Jennifer said. "See you both in a bit."

"Have fun, Mum," Alex said, waving as the two went into the fireplace.

As always for that time of year, Willowby's Wands and Weeds was hopping as students came in to get their kits refilled. Several customers greeted them as they came out of the fireplace, and Natalie quickly jumped up from where she was stocking Whipped Slug Bile and ran over to give Jennifer a big hug.

"Grandmother!" she beamed. "Where's Grandfather?"

"At the school of course," Jennifer chuckled at her. "Go tell your father it's time for the big list."

"Okay!" Natalie said, running behind the counter.

"Good morning, Mrs. Snape!" a wizened old witch with a purple hat said as she came in.

"Good morning, Mrs. Mayfair," Jennifer smiled at her.

"Still looking the same as always, I see," she said, eyeing Jennifer thoughtfully.

"Yes, well, runs in the family, you know," Jennifer said quickly, excusing herself to walk over to the counter, well away that the old woman was following her.

"Yes, it must," she agreed. "Considering your father seems pretty spry considering his job and the little boy, and chasing that young wife of his. How old is he again?"

"Mom!" Jennifer looked over to see Corey gesturing to her, and Jennifer hurriedly headed to the back.

Lucky was debating whether or not to follow when she heard her name and saw Sirius Black smiling at her.

"Congratulations on your dribbling award, Lucky," he said with a wink. "Glad to hear you got something out of that football camp besides a black eye."

"Thanks," Lucky said with a grin. "What are you doing here?"

"Escorting the girls to get their kits filled, what else?" Sirius said, nodding to where Lindsay stood in line chatting with another third year girl…a Ravenclaw, Lucky remembered. "We just got back from Diagon Alley. What is with those new books? I swear it seems like every year since Severus made Headmaster the books have gotten larger."

"Oh, great," Lucky said unenthusiastically. "We're going there next."

"Bring a back brace," Sirius advised, not inspiring much confidence in his niece.

"I really am sorry about what happened out there, Mom," Corey was telling Jennifer in the lab as he pulled something out of his private stock for her. "She came in here pestering me the other day about a new youth balm and wanted to know what you used. So I just told her it was something you made yourself."

"You shouldn't have said anything at all," Jennifer hissed at him, glancing at the mirror.

"I only voiced what everyone else already believes," Corey said, handing her the bag. "And considering the other alternative is telling them the truth, I think we ought to stick with that." Jennifer sighed softly, sitting on a stool.

"Maybe it is something that should have been destroyed," Jennifer murmured.

"Dad and Dumbledore both have only used that thing when it was absolutely necessary," Corey said quietly.

"I know, but it really is starting to show now. I've aged only a year or two since that first Elixir dose, Severus just a little more than that... three, perhaps four. And you know, you and Rose look the same age now…"

"She's also had five children since we got married, that'd take a lot out of anybody," Corey chuckled.

"I wonder how I'd look in glasses," Jennifer mused. "And maybe I'll grey my hair a bit."

"I can already hear Dad on this issue. Probably because if he were to get started on it I'd probably be able to hear him from here," Corey joked. "Take my advice and just let them think you're on something non-toxic and be done with it. Come on, I'd better start getting the rest of your personal list ready, I have my other clerks working on the Hogwarts list."

"I should check on Lucky anyhow," Jennifer said, heading back out front. She smiled when she saw that Lucky had already made her way into line with the other two girls. Jennifer waved warmly at Sirius as she stepped over to them. "Hello Sirius! Hello Lindsay and Laura! Got both of them today, do you?"

"Yeah, someone was having a bad day," Sirius said. Lucky raised an eyebrow at him. Laura Lupin looked rather somber.

"Well, make sure you get double phials of those I have marked on your list with an asterisk this year, girls. I swear nearly half the class ran out," Jennifer advised.

"We will, Aunt Jennifer," Lindsay promised as Laura took out her list to double check it.

Just then the door burst open with such force it nearly knocked a couple of first years over who were trying to get their basic kits. In ran a young boy, who, except for perhaps his dark hair and his mother's chin, looked decidedly, strikingly, unequivocally like his father…and he didn't even know it.

"Aunt Jennifer!" Ambrose said, panting. "You didn't forget you're taking me to Diagon Alley for my books, did you?"

"No, but you're going to need your raincoat. Have you gotten everything you need from here?" Jennifer asked.

"Oh, _ages_ ago," Ambrose said, and then ran out the door and to his mother's shop.

"Speaking of books, Jennifer," Sirius said. "Is Severus having a rodent problem in the school or something? Because I'm sure dropping those books on them would do the trick…"

"Now, Sirius, don't start, it's not his fault," Jennifer sighed. "The board thought our curriculum was too lenient and recommended a booklist with more 'challenging'material. Hermione picked out the majority of them and from what I've seen she did a splendid job considering some of the other choices they gave us."

"Too lenient? Hogwarts? Under Severus?" Sirius said with a dubious expression on his face.

"Yes, much too lenient according to some of the board members who happen to have children just coming of age to go to school," Jennifer said in a lower voice.

"Oho, I see now, this is all about our resident second year eight-year old, isn't it?" Sirius said, his eyes sparkling knowingly. "They had to grudgingly accept his perfect entrance score but someone decided his marks were high because the classes were too easy, so now they're going to flood the whole school with these monstrosities in hopes he'll drown?"

"Not the whole board, Sirius. Chairman Dalance knows very well the reason we can't take him out now, it'd be too dangerous. Besides, I have a feeling once the new marks are in they'll be eating their hats and we can phase them back out again," Jennifer explained quietly.

"Dangerous?" Lindsay frowned. "Why would it be dangerous?" Jennifer looked down to see Laura and Lucky were frowning at her as well.

"That wasn't meant for your ears," Jennifer said, twisting her finger to get them to turn back around. "We'll talk about it later, Sirius," Jennifer said.

"All right," Sirius said, shaking his head. "I don't envy you, Jennifer, but I can say for certain I envy the students even less."

The pouring rain was nothing compared to the dampened spirits of the students standing around Flourish and Blott's when Jennifer arrived. They were flipping through the books with such grim faces that Jennifer wished it wasn't too late to back out of using them. Reluctantly she stepped in and started helping Lucky and Ambrose.

"Holy smokes, and I thought the books were big my first year!" Ambrose said, reluctantly picking up the copy of _1001 Charms for Perfect Aptitude Tests_.

"That ok, Bill, I don't think this one is even in English," Lucky said as she stared at the first few pages of her potions tome, some of the formulas being several pages long.

"Don't worry, we'll just learn the theory, we're not trying any of the labs," Jennifer said in a tone too low for anyone else to hear.

For some reason, that only made Lucky feel slightly better. She gathered the rest of her books and suddenly noticed they were being stared at…or rather, Ambrose was being stared at…by several of the first years who viewed him with open distain. Jennifer had gone over to the main desk, talking to one of the other parents standing nearby.

"What? Can he help it if he's smart?" Lucky said in a challenging tone.

"Don't worry about it, Lucky," Ambrose said, pulling her arm away from them. "It doesn't matter what they think. All that matters is I get to go back to school this year." She looked over at his smiling face thoughtfully a moment.

"You are one_ chico extraño,_ Bill. At your age I'd be thrilled at getting out of school, and here you are thrilled to get into it," Lucky said, shaking her head at him then looking at her pile of books again. "I guess it's too late to get un-adopted, isn't it?" she grumbled, causing Ambrose to grin wider.

"Way, way too late," Ambrose chuckled. "Come on, my arms are going to fall off!"

"Yours and mine both," Lucky agreed, the two of them walking back over to where Jennifer was waiting.

The next day after having Lucky settled with Alex and Ben and everything else in its place, Jennifer found she couldn't get out of the Baker Street house fast enough, thankful that senior staff were expected there a day or two ahead of the regular staff. Her trunks had been whisked away the night before, so Jennifer quickly had a bite of toast and went through a short list of warnings for the girl sitting sleepily at the table before Apparating just outside the gates.

She took a minute to breathe in the misty Scottish air and gaze at her Hogwarts home, like a child standing in awe in front of their presents under the tree on Christmas morning. Suddenly, Jennifer dashed across the courtyard, up the steps and down the hall, hearing the grinding of the staircases moving in front of her. Even before they settled she raced up the stairs by twos, not stopping until she got to the fifteenth floor. There she allowed herself a moment to catch her breath and to take out her pocket mirror to primp her hair and straighten her robes. She snapped it shut and put it away, serenely walking up the spiral staircase with a calm, relaxed look on her face.

Sitting in a cozy chair to the right of Severus' desk, Hermione leaned over and stared at her when she slipped past the double doors.

"Wow, you got up here fast," Hermione commented in awe.

"Yes, I believe she's attempting to tie the record for the lowest known time for breaking their neck upon entering the castle," Severus said sternly.

"Sorry, Professor," Jennifer grinned, heading over to the high-backed chair on the left. But as she got in full view of where Hermione was sitting she stopped short, blinked, and then broke into a glowing smile. "Hermione!"

Severus took out his watch and clicked a button, apparently ignoring his wife's exclamation and the rueful look that came over his deputy's face. Four months along, Hermione was already starting to show.

"How lovely! Whatever happened to your not planning on having more than one?" Jennifer asked.

"Bad batch of Oat's Bane," Hermione admitted with a grimace. "Out of the Minute Alchemist catalog."

"Honestly, you should know better. You should have gone to Corey's! You are happy about this, aren't you?" Jennifer asked, suddenly concerned.

"As a matter of fact, once Ron got over the initial shock, I'm positively thrilled," Hermione admitted with a grin.

"When are you due?" Jennifer asked without pause.

"Oh, I'm four and a half months along," Hermione admitted uncomfortably.

"But that means you're due about the same time as Alex! They'll be going to school together!" Jennifer beamed. "My won't that make for a busy January…" Jennifer paused then, her face turning stony. "January?"

"Two minutes and fourteen seconds," Severus announced, glancing over at Hermione, who looked flushed. "See what I mean?"

"It did take her awhile considering she's a Truth Seeker," Hermione admitted, trying not to look at Jennifer.

"Yes, I know, it's fascinated me for years…" Severus said casually.

"January?" Jennifer said again, hands on her hips. "But who's going to take over your duties when you go on leave?"

"You are," Severus said calmly. Jennifer then stared at him for a moment, before she started looking between them and backing up.

"Oh, no. No, not me!"

"Jennifer, you are the next senior staff member and on top of that the only other person who has been trained for the job," Severus pointed out.

"Well, what about Pomona Sprout?"

"Honestly, Jennifer, you know she's been slowing up these past few years even in her regular classes," Hermione said quietly, "she couldn't possibly keep up with that level of paperwork."

"She can't? _I _can't!" Jennifer protested

"I expect you'll have to learn to manage," Severus said firmly.

"Why can't we train someone else in it, then?" Jennifer asked.

"There is no point to doing that when other than needing a leave now and again neither of you are going anywhere for quite some years to come, unless there's something either of you haven't mentioned to me yet," he added, his eyes flicking between them.

"I'm certainly not going anywhere, Severus," Hermione reassured him emphatically.

"Tempting," Jennifer said dangerously.

"Jennifer, it's only for six weeks or so, and if you have too much trouble I will help pick up the slack. It can't be helped one way or the other, so I believe this discussion is closed. Hermione, make sure before we close on Christmas that Jennifer has a refresher course. She hasn't done this since I took over and we have made some changes to the system," Severus said, putting on his glasses.

"Of course, Professor," Hermione said. Jennifer reluctantly sat down, obviously not as enthusiastic about coming back now as she had been.

"Now, about these books," Severus continued, noting that both women's faces grew dark. "I am sure neither of you will be surprised when the rest of the staff begins to corner us about them; feel free, however, to simply inform them I'm not happy about the matter either and let it drop. Hermione, I have no problem with your suggestion of having them turn in syllabi for only half the term, so long as they understand that if we are forced to continue with these until the end of the year it's likely to make a long Christmas holiday for any who choose go that route. Other than that, I want everyone following the book material to the letter until the board itself is convinced that this was a mistake."

"Professor, I hope that doesn't include the labwork…"  
"It includes everything, Jennifer."

"But some of these even listed under lower years are NEWT material!" she protested.

"I'm well aware of the material, Jennifer, I've looked over all the books myself. As written, Jennifer," Severus said firmly.

"Very well, Professor, but don't blame me if you find yourself having to replace the lower half of the castle if someone makes a mistake…"

"Then don't let them make mistakes," Severus suggested with a thin smile. Jennifer looked at him dubiously. "On the bright side, we've already gotten numerous parent complaints about them and even a number of Howlers, which I promptly sent off to the board. I suggest if you hear parents complaining that for some reason didn't feel they could go to me about it that you direct them towards the board as well. Hermione will handle staff complaints."

"Yes, Professor," both of them said unenthusiastically.

"Very well, I suppose that's all for the moment. Hermione, if you could include a list of substitute recommendations for your charm classes when you turn in schedules I'd appreciate it."

"They'll be on your desk in the morning," Hermione said with a smile as she got up. "Actually, I'm rather looking forward to teaching these new books. I read a lot of them as summer reading back when I was going to school," she admitted. Jennifer and Severus looked up and stared at her but didn't comment until she stepped out of the room.

"Now I know these are going to be a disaster," Jennifer said.

"I am counting on it," Severus said, getting in his desk for a stack of forms he had been neglecting. "The fact that the board would do something like this out of spite for one student burns me at both ends."

"Is it spite? Or is it fear?" Jennifer murmured, Severus looking at her thoughtfully. "It's almost as if people are beginning to truly sense that this about more than advancing a gifted student. Remember how people first reacted when Anna's abilities came out?"

"Yes, but that did blow over, nobody even blinks over it now," Severus said.

"That's true, Severus, but if it ever comes out who his father really is, the situation with Ambrose will never blow over."

"Tell me something I don't already know," Severus sighed in annoyance, putting down the quill. "I only hope that this is the sort of secret that can be kept. At least with Aurelius guarding it, he'll be able to sense if it's about to break."

"Well, we might be able to keep it from the rest of the world, Severus, but if you could see Ambrose's face the way I can, you'd wonder how long we can keep it from him," Jennifer warned. "He's too smart and too determined not to figure it out eventually. Perhaps you should tell him…"

"Jennifer, despite his intelligence and status in this school, he still has the maturity level of an eight year old," Severus reminded her. "He's not ready."

"Is it he that's not ready, or is it you?" Jennifer asked knowingly. Severus squinted.

"I see you've decided to upgrade to prawns this year," he said flatly.

"Well it does make a better bait," Jennifer said with an enigmatic smile.

"Not this time," Severus retorted. "I have too much to do right now to get caught in your nets…just like you should be turning in your security suggestions for this year and starting on Ginny's potion list."

"Yours to command as always, esteemed Headmaster," Jennifer said mockingly, standing.

"And that sort of fishing lure will also not get you anywhere," Severus warned her. Jennifer simply smiled and walked behind the desk, wrapping her arms around him from behind and kissing his neck. "Can't that wait until tonight?" he asked in a low voice.

"I'm sure it can, it's waited this long," Jennifer said mischievously as she headed towards the curtain hiding the sitting room door. But as she opened it, she paused for a moment, glancing up the stairs at the Headmaster's private observatory. "I wonder how Alicia's doing?"

"With all we have to do, you're still concerning yourself with that?" Severus said, not even bothering to look up from his work.

"So are you, even if you refuse to admit it," Jennifer said knowingly. "Do you suppose it's happened yet?"

"Not likely in the slightest," Severus said curtly.

"How can you be so sure?" Jennifer asked curiously, and he handed up a letter.

"Because she's still writing to us," Severus said simply.


	2. A Portrait Obscured

_/AN Ok fine, I got a few reviews for the first chapter so I'll go ahead and release another since I have it ready. This chapter covers a lot of ground, from establishing a work vs. personal relationship and several story plotlines, as well as a hook for the next chapter. I won't be able to update every day because this story will probably be huge (I'm on chapter eleven at the moment, but definitely need a lot of edits further back.) But I know it's kinda hard to get a feeling for the story on just the intro chapter, so putting this out now. Enjoy! JCWriter_

Chapter Two

A Portrait Obscured

Jennifer didn't bother to look up when there was a knock on the door, flicking it open with quick motion of the wand as she stirred one of the dozen cauldrons in front of her. Hermione peered in a moment, glancing at something sparkling on Jennifer's neck before coming in.

"Could you shut the door, please?" Jennifer asked.

"Are you using that?" Hermione asked, pointing at the Time Turner.

"That's why I asked you to shut the door," Jennifer said briskly, pulling a rack of phials out of a pot of boiling water.

"What else are you doing then?"

"Security checks," Jennifer explained. "You need me to drop it off in your office when I'm done?"

"If only. I believe Sally Scribe needs it even more than I do, but that's not why I came," Hermione said, opening one of the folders in her hand. "It's about the classroom budget."

"Oh, that," Jennifer grimaced slightly, but then noticed her Butterfly Balm was about to boil over and turned her attention back to her cauldrons.

"Do you realize this request is nearly double last years?" Hermione said.

"Hardly by choice! These books have a lot of rare ingredients in them that isn't in the student kits, and I really had hoped to follow my normal labs this year, so I'm quite sure that except for the students in Dabbler's, they won't have them on hand," Jennifer huffed, setting up the phials before charming one of the ladles to start filling them.

"Maybe you could get by with doing some of these as pure demonstrations…" Hermione mused, looking over the list.

"Well, you'll have to take that up with the Headmaster, you heard what Severus said," Jennifer said with exasperation, allowing herself to catch a breath. "How they expect us to keep up with this horrible book list with only a ten percent increase from last year is beyond me anyhow."

"They expect me to leech it out of the alumni, I imagine," Hermione said with pursed lips. Jennifer gazed over at her with open sympathy.

"All right, Hermione, approve whatever increase you think would have been fair under normal circumstances, and I'll pick up the difference on my own," Jennifer said.

"No, Jennifer, if I did that, you'd be practically be paying the school to work," Hermione protested.

"Really, Hermione, what teacher doesn't pay to do their job when push comes to shove? Blood, sweat and tears, that's what it's always been about, hasn't it?" Jennifer said with such a wry grin that Hermione chuckled and shook her head. "Personally, I'd put that number in front of the board just for the shock factor, even if I did know they wouldn't approve it."

"Maybe I will at that," Hermione agreed, stopping to stir one of the cauldrons nearby. "You are going to get some sleep tonight, aren't you?"

"Not bloody likely," Jennifer admitted as she pulled the empty cauldron out of the way to be cleaned and grabbed another one.

It was six o'clock the next morning when Jennifer finally tracked down Sally in the staff room and handed it over, books under arm as she sat down at the table where Sally, Andrew and Zed Tangent sat with similar piles of work.

"Bless you, Jennifer! Now perhaps I can steal a few hours in my office working on my higher years as well," Sally Scribe said, taking the Time Turner.

"I would like to borrow it next if you don't mind," Zed put in.

"Hermione already told me she needs it next," Sally said apologetically, opening up a copy of _Hogwarts, A History_, going over it with chalk.

"Which year got stuck with that thing?" Andrew asked curiously.

"Second," Sally said dourly.

"Second?" Andrew gaped at her. "What do they do for an encore in third, _Universal History of Magic?_"

"Fifth year," Sally said dourly. "Seems like they were hardest on second year for some strange reason."

"Imagine that," Andrew said dryly.

"They have me teaching paradox theories in my second level books," Zed said glumly. "Last year, my students in third level books were so below average on that subject I had to mark the papers on a curve."

"I wouldn't be surprised if we aren't all forced to mark papers on a curve this year," Jennifer said dourly.

"No curves." The four of them looked up to see Severus walking in the door, frowning at each one in turn.

"But I've always marked my higher years on a curve," Zed complained.

"Not this year," Severus said firmly, coming to stand behind Jennifer's chair to see how she was doing on her agenda. "Aren't you ever going to get some rest?"

"Once I actually feel I'm ahead, yes," Jennifer said grumpily.

"You won't get ahead by exhausting yourself to the point of collapse, Professor Craw, I suggest you take a break now before I am forced to insist," Severus said warningly. Sheepishly, Jennifer picked up her books, while the other three pretended not to have heard the exchange. "It may also interest you to know that after seeing your budget estimates for the year that the board has requested that we cut down on the hours of lab required per student…"

"Oh, thank goodness," Jennifer said with obvious relief.

"Yes, well, I'm sure you'll make it up in formula analysis," Severus said, pulling out Jennifer's chair. "No, not now. Break."

"Yes, Professor," Jennifer said, giving everyone else a tired smile before heading out the door.

"So, who has that _thing_ now?" Severus said, frowning at the three sitting there. Sally raised a hand.

"I just now got it," Sally said.

"And how much time are you intending to borrow from it?" he asked with a frown.

"Three or four extra hours?" Sally asked hopefully.

"I could use about the same," Zed put in.

"Andrew?"

"No complaints at the moment," Andrew said, calmly proofreading his first and second year test masters. Zed and Sally stared at him. "What?"

"Just how, might I ask, did you manage to stay on this insane schedule without the Time Turner?" Zed asked.

"I just cancelled my dates this week," Andrew said expressionlessly, shrugging a little. "It isn't as if I'm not used to four hours of sleep a day already."

Severus rewarded him with a thin, forced smile.

"In that case, once you're through you might see what you can do to help Weasley and the others to get back on track," he suggested.

"No problem, Professor," Andrew said calmly.

Severus nodded to him and then strode out the door, waiting until it shut before he rolled his eyes and shook his head, muttering softly to himself as he strode down the hall.

Jennifer was so exhausted by the time she reached the fifth floor that she found herself wondering just how long she had been running on pure adrenalin. She had gotten to her room half-asleep, leaning against the frame without even looking at it.

" 'A Stitch in time saves safety pins', Dewhurst," Jennifer yawned. She waited a moment and then blinked open her eyes, wondering why it hadn't opened. It was then she noticed that the raven portrait wasn't in the frame. Groaning at the inconvenience, Jennifer went over to the dragon portrait instead.

" 'He who laughs last dies first,'" she declared, and the door opened. She stepped to through Severus' sitting room to the bedroom then, and by the time she woke up late that evening had forgotten all about it.

It was the smell of pipe tobacco that tickled her nose and made her wake up. Stretching a little first, she pulled on her robe and shuffled up to the door leading to Severus' room and peered in, unsurprised to see him sitting in the corner he kept all his favorite books and collectibles with the book he had attempted to read over the summer in hand and his pipe smoking away in a crystal ash tray.

"And with all we have to do," she clucked at him as she stepped in, shaking her head.

"You'll forgive me, I trust, once you take a look over on the breakfast table," Severus said calmly, pointing her towards it with his pipe. Curiously Jennifer went over and noticed her new potion books were filled with different colored bookmarks, and seven detailed outlines were fanned out beside them.

"Why, Severus!" Jennifer exclaimed in amazement, glancing over them. "I can't believe you did this!"

"I had a weak moment," Severus admitted. "When I came in to check on you, you were out cold, and I thought it might do you some good to sleep yourself out. Fortunately for you, I have some limited experience with your subject; hopefully I've given you a comfortable start."

"And then some! This is marvelous!" Jennifer said with deep appreciation before giving him a warm hug and settling on his lap. "Thank you, Severus," she said lovingly.

"So this means you'll be able to finish before the Sorting now?" he frowned at her.

"Ah-ah-ah, Severus, no Headmaster business past those doors, your rule," Jennifer reminded him mischievously.

"A rule created to maintain what little sanity I have left, as well as yours," Severus murmured. "Although lately I wonder if I haven't lost it after all, especially after all this nastiness with the board."

"You've done everything and more to not only appease them but to keep moving the school past this obstacle, Severus," Jennifer said softly.

"Yes, but for what?" Severus said irritably. Jennifer grew quiet. After a few moments, Severus sighed, made sure his pipe was out, and put his arms around her.

"Have as many regrets as all of that?" Jennifer asked at last. Severus sighed.

"Well I don't regret you," Severus reassured her.

"You have on occasion," Jennifer said.

"Again with the bait," Severus tsked, pulling her chin over so she would look at him. "I have a feeling that you have had an occasion to regret me in a heated moment. Lord knows I've given you enough reason."

"Such nonsense, Severus," Jennifer said softly. "Almost as much nonsense as you wondering if your life so far has been inadequate."

"Have I mentioned lately just how annoying it can be to have a wife who can read one's mind?" Severus said grumpily.

"Well, it's not just me who's noticed something is up, Severus. Andrew and Aurelius have both come to me asking if you're having a midlife crisis…"

"I am _not_ having a midlife crisis," Severus said defensively. "And if you don't mind me saying so, it's hardly fair for you to go on like this while sitting on my lap when I only allowed you over here so you could thank me. This is gratitude?"

"All right, Severus, I'll drop it," Jennifer said, kissing him. "But just because you're Headmaster now doesn't mean there aren't any personal challenges left in your life."

"How about the personal challenge of getting you into the next room?" Severus asked.

"Challenge? Well I suppose I can fight, if you prefer," Jennifer said slyly, getting up.

"You realize that if what I prefer matters, then it makes fighting a moot point, don't you?" Severus said.

"Oh, well, then I suppose I'll just work on my tests then, since I'm caught up now," Jennifer said, unsurprised when he pulled her arm back.

"Do you really think that is why I went to so much effort to get you caught up on your work?" Severus asked her in a low voice. Jennifer smiled lovingly at him, slipping into their room the moment he opened the door for her.

As Jennifer was just digging back into her test preps early the next morning, she heard a knock coming from the door to the Headmaster's Study. She opened it to see Hermione standing there, peering behind her.

"Is Severus up yet?" Hermione asked.

"No, should I get him?" Jennifer replied, frowning.

"Um…no, you'll do for now, come on," Hermione said, turning around and hurrying through the study. Jennifer quickly shut the door and followed, nearly having to jog to keep up.

"Where are we going? Something about the paintings?" Jennifer asked, trying to catch another glimpse of her face.

"It's in the Ravenclaw Tower," Hermione said, hurrying down the stairs.

"Well you should have said that before, we'd have been closer taking the other door," Jennifer complained, but followed close behind as they stopped at a painting of a pair of egrets. "'Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man want coffee.'"

"What is with these passwords?" Hermione sighed.

"Severus was in a very peculiar mood that day," Jennifer agreed, waiting for the door to open, "but I dare any intruders to try and figure them out."

"Over here, Jennifer," Hermione said, walking straight into the common room with Jennifer not far behind.

The moment they got into the room, Jennifer stopped short and stared at the wall where a portrait of Rowena Ravenclaw had rested for over a thousand years. For although the silver gilt frame was still there, the image inside was not. It was not just an absence of the woman, it was an absence of everything; but it also wasn't a blank piece of canvas. It was a rolling expanse of purplish grey fog, moving about the portrait like clouds in a stormy sky. Every now and then the tone and tint of the fog seemed to change, but it never seemed to thin or clear anywhere within the immense frame.

"Wow," Jennifer finally got out in a whisper. "Who found it?"

"John Carnegie when he was running his last minute maintenance checks," Hermione explained, staring at it with the same awe that Jennifer was. "I sent him to the other dorms to check on the other founder portraits."

"Mind covering for me while I run a few curse tests?" Jennifer asked, getting out her gloves. Hermione simply got out her wand in response. As she was going through some of the basics, Icarus Ravenclaw suddenly faded into view. He gazed up at the painting for a long time.

"This seems very familiar to me," Ick murmured, but neither Hermione nor Jennifer were paying attention, because Jennifer finally had ran enough checks that she felt brave enough to try and touch the surface. Glancing back first to make sure she was ready, she gently brushed the surface with her gloved hand.

"It feels just like normal canvas," Jennifer said thoughtfully, stepping back again with a shrug. "I can't find any curses."

"Well, the painting is one of the oldest in the entire castle…probably even older…remember how young she was in this one?" Hermione asked. "Perhaps it has a curse on it so old you can't detect it."

"Well, it's definitely not true dark magic, old or not, or I would have gotten something," Jennifer said with certainly.

"Pardon me, Professors," Jennifer glanced around to see the school's caretaker standing behind them. "Professor Weasley, the other founder paintings from the dorms appear to be in tact."

"Well that's a relief, at least," Hermione said, turning back to what Jennifer was doing.

"John, could you handle point so I go to the next level with this? Two fast wands are better than one, after all," Jennifer said.

"Surely, it'd be a pleasure," John said, taking out his wand.

"What are you going to do?" Hermione asked with alarm as Jennifer pulled off a glove with her teeth.

"Skin test," Jennifer explained, and the other two looked at each other with a serious expression before readying their wands. "Okay, here it goes," Jennifer said, quickly dragging a finger over the surface. She paused a moment when nothing happened, putting her entire hand on the canvas before taking a step back and inspecting it.

"Something wrong?" Hermione asked. Jennifer turned over her hand casually.

"Dusty," Jennifer shrugged.

"I'd wonder if I were a House Elf if I'd want to dust a painting such as this," John said.

"I don't know what's going on, but there's no spells on the frame other than the normal charms to protect it against fading and dry rot and such," Jennifer put in.

"We should be movin' it, I think, before the students get here, especially since we don't know the cause," John said.

"Yes, I agree," Hermione said, having trouble keeping her eyes off of it. "Well, at least it seems to be an isolated event. When it first happened, I was afraid it wasn't the only one."

"What makes you so sure it's the only one?" Icarus said, Hermione glancing over as if she had just noticed him. "It isn't, is it, Jennifer?" Jennifer stared at him for a moment before it finally sunk in.

"Wait a minute," Jennifer said in realization, dashing towards the hall. Hermione and John raced after her, while Icarus simply hovered, brooding forlornly over the matter before fading again.

She sped down the back stairs with the other two on her heels, darting down the fifth floor corridor to her sitting room door. She groaned then as she saw the frame clearly, kicking herself for being so tired the day before to have noticed it.

"Dewhurst," Jennifer said with open grief as the other two ran up to her, staring at boiling clouds moving within the frame.

"This is your door guard, isn't it, luv?" John asked, running a quick check before inspecting the frame.

"Yeah," Jennifer said glumly. "He's been my door guard since I first arrived at the castle."

"We'd better get Severus," Hermione said.

"I'll get him," Jennifer agreed, heading over to the next painting. But then she stopped short again and cried out, for the sleeping dragon had also been replaced with the boiling clouds.

"Another one!" John said grimly.

"It wasn't like this yesterday," Jennifer said firmly. "I used this door myself when Dewhurst wouldn't open for me."

"Not good," Hermione said. "Half of the security in the castle is tied to paintings in some way."

"Tell me something I don't already know," Jennifer snapped before sprinting down the hall and up the stairs.

"John, I want you to round up all the ghosts and Elves and have them check every single painting in this castle, put together some sort of list and report to the Headmaster's Study when you're done," Hermione said.

"Right away, Professor Weasley," he agreed, pulling out a rolled piece of parchment as she hurried to catch up with Jennifer. He shook his head, writing down the three they had already discovered. "Just another quiet year at Hogwarts," he said to himself. "And I thought my old job was dangerous."

Severus drummed his fingers on his arm distractedly, forcing himself not to pace as his staff filed in for the pre-term meeting. Everyone was coming, Severus had made sure of it; even Sagitarri and Boulderdash made an appearance, and John who was standing behind the Headmaster lost in thought. Jennifer slipped in and sat next to Anna and Ginny, while Hermione went around the room checking them off until finally she nodded to Severus.

"I will make this as brief as possible, since I realize the preparations for this term has been especially grueling, and Hermione has informed me that some of you have yet to turn in all your paperwork," Severus began. Pomona and Tonks looked decidedly uncomfortable. "As some of you may have heard…or likely all of you the way things spread in this castle…there has been a strange occurrence with a number of paintings in the school; eight at last count, I believe," Severus said, glancing over at John who nodded.

"At last count?" Tonks repeated, frowning.

"The paintings didn't seem to have clouded all at the same time, and since we are still not sure what's causing it, I believe this is far from over. Which paintings are hit would appear to be random as far as where they are in the castle, but that might be simply because we are just now becoming aware of it and may have missed any patterns. It does seem to be affecting mostly older paintings, but then again, that might be a premature observation as well. We do know that there doesn't seem to be any adverse effects if we accidentally come in contact with them, so right now the problem is mostly an inconvenience. However, the situation has the potential of becoming a security threat if it continues. I want everyone to be attentive while walking in the halls from now on; if anyone spots a painting which has been inflicted by whatever this is, you should come to Hermione, Jennifer or myself, whichever is most accessible at that given time. Since we have no idea what's causing this yet, it may very well be someone or something attempting to breach our defenses, so I want everyone to be on their guard. Dr. Sagittari and myself will be doing some tests to discern the type of magic that is causing this, and I have also asked Zacchius Black's assistance, so expect him to be in and out of here until the problem is resolved." Severus glanced around the room thoughtfully for a moment.

"Very well, now that that is out of the way, I want to reiterate to everyone that the books you were given will be followed to the letter and marked correctly; no curve marks or extra credit or whatever other schemes you normally use to bring marks up. No make up tests, either, without special permission from me. Feel free to make an appointment with me to contest something in them, but unless it's something highly volatile, I wouldn't count on anything coming of it. Anyone have anything else?" Severus asked. Pomona and Tonks raised their hands. "Other than borrowing the Time Turner which I have locked up for the remainder of the term?" Their hands slowly went back down again. "Please try to at least get those itineraries in by noon tomorrow so that Hermione will have time to send me copies before the Sorting Ceremony. Dismissed."

Severus stood there by his seat for some time, watching as many of the staff left in groups, chatting on their way down the hall, but was completely unsurprised when Andrew, Anna and Jennifer lingered in their seats with Icarus hovering nearby.

"Mind if I ask something off the record?" Andrew said the moment the room cleared out some.

"I imagine you will ask either way," Severus replied calmly.

"Why Zack? I mean, I know he's the Profound representative now in Merlin, but he's still a ghost shrink, paintings are hardly his specialty," Andrew said. "Why not call in Alicia?"

"Alicia is in Canada working on some new painting techniques, and I'd prefer not to disturb her with this," Severus said, "and if you don't mind, I'd rather you not tell her about it either."

"Why not?" Andrew said, puzzledly. "It's not like she can't get here in no time if you asked…well, she still can't pop in the castle, as far as I know, but she can get to Hogsmeade in a blink of an eye…"

"If I may sir," Icarus suddenly interrupted, his voice unusually clear and serious. "Although I understand there are some very valid personal reasons for her not to be here right now, I should tell you that her coming into contact with any of the infected paintings would be extremely dangerous," he said, Jennifer and Severus frowning in response. "They may be harmless to most people, but Alicia can quite literally become a part of the painting, which is how she uses them to travel; just like the paintings themselves do jumping from frame to frame or to a specific portrait. It's best she not be here if it can be helped."

"You've seen something about all this haven't you, Ick?" Jennifer murmured, frowning at his expression. "About the paintings and what's going on right now?"

"Ever since Ciardoth's death, things have gotten more vague for me," Ick said glumly, the strong intelligence behind his words fading as his melancholy returned. "Maybe it's because things have changed since then, I don't know. But what I do still remember terrifies me."

Jennifer got a strong chill down her back just before Icarus faded to sulk somewhere. She glanced at Andrew who seemed just as stricken with concern. Severus simply looked calm yet thoughtful, but Jennifer knew better. Even then he was fingering his watch in his pocket and wondering if he should even bother to glance at it, for Alicia was still thousands of miles away, and more than ever he knew he wanted to keep it that way.


	3. Northern Lights

_A/N: Strange how a character who was simply supposed to be a one line irony (a wizard studying Muggle-induced global warming) turned into a vibrant supporting character. I was thinking of Tennant's Who when I wrote Jacob Greencastle, so don't be surprised when you see it mixed in with his personality. Ultimately, however, although Jacob plays an important part, this chapter is truely about Alicia and Zoe. Thanks for the reviews...and __always in the market for an igloo like Jacob's... JCWriter._

Chapter Three

Northern Lights

July melted into August, and August into September while Alicia Snape gazed from icy glacier mountaintops to never-ending skies. It was a landscape that helped fine tune her shades and shadowing in her painting and at the same time gave opportunities for momentary diversions as she reached for her sketchbook in time to capture a mother polar bear with her cubs, seals migrating to distant shores, and even an occasional whale, cresting above the waves below the research center. But lately, there seemed to be a lot less movement where she was. The skies had become hazy, and the mountains more prone to chilling winds. Every now and again there would be an Inuit fisherman with his sled that she would stop to sketch, although knowing only rudimentary words made it difficult for her to capture.

It wasn't why she had come anyhow; and she was starting to get impatient. Perhaps she should have gone to Polaris Town with Zoë and take a break from her painting, she mused, beginning to regret agreeing to stay up here with them until Yule, especially now that Zoë was showing signs of boredom with her new husband. Maybe she could sneak off to the Riviera for an afternoon? She grinned at that idea, liking it better the more she thought of it, especially when she looked down at her palette and realized she had run out of a particular shade of grey for the third time. Making up her mind, Alicia stood and stretched, commanding her easel to follow as she climb up the path. At the end of the rocky path was a large, but otherwise unremarkable looking igloo…at least it might have been considered unremarkable if it hadn't had an astrological telescope sticking out the top of it.

She crawled inside and worked her way out of her mukluks, sticking them on the rack just on the other side of the opening, walking in her stocking feet across the scattered rugs that crisscrossed the main dome floor. A warm fire near the living and sleeping area kept the room nice and snug, with carefully placed spells on the walls to keep them from melting. It was, in fact, not at all an unpleasant a place to live, although there were times when Alicia felt much too alone with her thoughts.

To the left of the entrance and opposite the living area was the 'kitchen', while to the right, tons of equipment was scattered on the floor surrounding the telescope. Even after living there for three months, Alicia wasn't completely sure that she had figured out what all did what. She scanned the work area a moment with a frown before taking a few steps closer.

"Jacob? You here?" Alicia asked, and immediately a young, handsome, brown-haired wizard appeared from behind the telescope, smiling brightly.

"Good! You're back!" he said, attempting to work his way out of his cluttered research area.

"I was thinking of heading to the beach for some drinks, actually…"

"I would put that on hold if I were you," he said with an enigmatic smile, making a quick adjustment to one of his instruments before stepping away. "I have some good news. The solar winds are picking up, and both my weather readings and the local prediction say the haze should clear in an hour or two, and if I'm not mistaken we should be expecting a visit from the merry dancers tonight."

"Really? The Aurora Borealis? Are you sure this time?" Alicia asked, trying to contain her excitement.

"Yes, quite sure, I had some tests hooked up to my Magimagnet Reader and it's already starting to behave erratically. Of course, if you want to go to the beach…"

"No way, I'm staying, I've been waiting for this for weeks!" Alicia said firmly, running over to her footlocker and pulling out some fresh canvas.

"Good thing the peak season is starting a week or two early this year then," Jacob said with amusement, heading over to the kitchen area. "The best viewing will be around midnight, so you have a bit to wait still. Did Zoë say when she'd be back?"

"Not really," Alicia admitted.

"Hum, well I guess I'll just assume she'll be home for dinner at the moment," he said, digging into an icebox – one that was actually made out of ice – and then started preparing something.

Alicia frowned slightly, deciding best not to say anything and turned to her work, ripping off a piece of canvas and picking out a stretcher frame from ones she had made earlier. As much as Alicia cared for her cousin, she also couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Jacob…he was a very nice guy…too nice, she had to admit to herself, for Zoë.

Zoë was constantly in love with the idea of being in love; so when that first rush of excitement began to fade, Zoë found herself looking for the next greatest thing. The cycle had all started when she was a costume designer and married a director; and when he went on to _his_ 'next greatest thing' had left her with a tidy divorce settlement. After that, Zoë realized perhaps it wasn't that bad of a racket, although privately Alicia thought what Zoë was doing was worse than Andrew's refusal to commit to anything.

Alicia sighed to herself as she watched her charmed stapler move around the side of the frame as she kept the canvas taut. Actually, neither Zoë nor Andrew made all that much sense to her, but then, she wasn't sure either really understood her position either. No one did, especially not her parents…her mind got lost as she thought about it. Jacob, who had seen her get that brooding look before, stepped away from the counter and waved a hand in front of her face.  
"Wake up, Cuz! This is no day to go into one of your artistic moods! I thought you were looking forward to this!" Jacob chided her. She grinned wanly.

"Sorry, I was just thinking. Hope Zoë gets back in time."

"Well, it's not as if she'll miss it from Polaris Town, but we will have the better view if she does dawdle," Jacob grinned. "I'd better go work on getting my cameras set up." Jacob took out his wand long enough to reinsulate himself and his equipment against the extreme temperature and headed outside, leaving Alicia to change her easel and palette out and tend to dinner. Finally he came back in and the two of them sat down with the stew and Alicia listening quietly as he talked of weather observations and the perfect conditions enthusiastically. He paused suddenly, looking at his equipment, hurrying quickly over to check the Magimagnet Reader again.

"Aha! Here it comes, it's changing polarization! Come on, Alicia!" he said excitedly, running to the telescope for a moment as she snapped at her easel to follow and renewed her own protection spells, following him out to the side of the hill. But after that, Alicia needed no more prompting. She couldn't help but gape at the beautiful green color that was breaking over the sky.

For some time neither of them spoke, only the sound of the lens of Jacob's camera clicking every now and again. Alicia stood there a long time, gazing at it, unsure of the curious emotions going through her, feeling both distantly alone and yet connected to the scenery as if it were a part of her somehow. At last she picked up her brush, not quite sure in the strange light if she even was getting the colors right, even though it was easily bright enough to paint by. Not long after she had started, Jacob had stopped, leaning on his camera as he stared at the sky.

"Isn't it absolutely amazing?" Jacob said in a quiet voice, his smile wistful and full of awe. "Here we are in the middle of this frozen jungle of ice and snow, and nature reveals one of its most beautiful of spells, out in the open for anyone to see; Muggle or Wizard, native or scientist, human or giant, oilman or fisherman…crisp and clear and connecting all of us with its charm. It's magic like no other, a rainbow without rain and light without sun, hooding the earth in stardust. Would that everyone could see it, and see it for what it really is, perhaps the planet wouldn't be in such disarray all the time."

"If everyone just saw the world like you do, I think we'd be at least a step in the right direction," Alicia said with a smile.

"No, I'm just a scientist really, I call it like I see it, you're the one with the artistic vision," he said with a shrug. "But I can still appreciate art, and this I think is of the highest order."

"I'm starting to believe that science can be an art too, in a way, from how I've seen you get when you're working on a project," Alicia said. "Besides, I bet everyone doesn't see it like we do. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who are so wrapped up in their own lives to notice it more than a passing glance. Survival must come first, after all."

"Surviving, that's just the point, you definitely wouldn't be living," Jacob said. "We need to take advantage of the moments as they are given to us, there's so much darkness in the world…I'm not sure it's wise to pass up those brief instances where goodness finally gets to shine through."

"Hey guys!" the two of them looked around to see Zoë walking up, putting her arm around Jacob's. "Aren't you done with your photos yet? I know this is going to take Alicia awhile, but…"

"Stay out with us and enjoy the view," Jacob coaxed her.

"I've seen it, I saw it in town," Zoë sighed impatiently, slipping away from his side and walking back towards the entrance. "Anything to eat in there?" Alicia didn't miss Jacob's shoulders slumping a bit as he took off the camera and started disassembling the tripod.

"Coming," Jacob assured his wife, despite taking his time to put it all away. He gave Alicia a strained smile as he headed back inside and the solitude of the moment closed in, leaving her feeling more disconnected than before.

Alicia rolled out of bed the next morning, kicking the layers off and stretching, knowing that she had probably overslept. It was quiet except for a light whirring from a couple of Jacob's instruments, but there was a pot of coffee on the stove still half-full, so Alicia poured herself a cup and drank it black, wincing a bit from the burn in her throat from drinking it too fast. At last she went to her studio area, pulling her jumper on as she stared at the easel with a frown.

The painting was terrible.

She stared at it as if wondering if it was her own work. She hadn't felt like this about one of her paintings since she was ten. The color was off. The texture was flat. The image was two dimensional, and there was barely any movement at all; none of the shimmer or the wispy trails of light, stretching out in different directions, nor did it seem to have anywhere near the luminescence that it had last night. She debated if it was fixable, but the more she looked at the mistakes, the more she didn't think so. For some reason, she knew that trying would somehow only make it worse.

She was still standing there when Jacob came in from taking his morning readings, tossing his charts off his desk as he stopped to take off his mukluks and gloves.

"Good morning, Alicia! Nice and clear out there, today," he said cheerfully. "Is that your painting from last night? Mind if I take a look?"

"Don't expect much," Alicia said broodingly as Jacob came over to study it. After he stood there with a slight frown on his face for a minute or two, Alicia looked over at him.

"Well, it's…that is to say it's…well, after all it was your first try at it," Jacob said apologetically.

"I can't remember the last time I failed so miserably at capturing a moment," Alicia said glumly.

"Well, maybe it's just not the sort of thing one's meant to capture?" Jacob mused.

"Or I just don't have the skill to capture it," Alicia sighed.

"Oh, now, I wouldn't say that, Alicia, you're the most brilliant painter there is…"

"Not quite," Alicia said curtly, her own voice sounding a little off to her. "I wonder what I did wrong? Perhaps it was just not having enough light to see my palette by."

"I know, why don't you look off some of the photos I took?" Jacob suggested.  
"Photos don't really seem to have the same level of soul to me…"

"I understand that, Alicia, but perhaps it'll give you something to practice until the next one. This is the eleventh year this year; magnetic storms come in spurts, but this is the best year and best part of the cycle to see it. I'm sure you'll have many more chances," he reassured her.

Steam billowed in as one side of the ice block wall opened like a door, and Zoë stepped in, her hair still wrapped in a towel as she stepped in wearing ski pants over spandex. She walked over to them to see what they're looking at.

"Oh, the aurora. Great job on that Alicia, looks great," Zoë said, kissing Jacob briefly before heading over to the fire to put her thermal socks on.

"Didn't it seem like to you there was anything missing?" Alicia asked her with a frown.

"Missing? Not really, it's not like you can see much over that ridge except the glacier," Zoë shrugged, glancing at it thoughtfully. "I know, maybe next time you should put Jacob in it or something too."

"I think you're missing the point," Alicia sighed.

"Maybe, but personally, I don't see anything wrong with it the way it is. It's fine, Alicia. Anyhow, I'm heading out to do some snowmobiling with Xavier and some of his friends. I'll try not to be too late for dinner," she added as she threw on her boots and overcoats and Disapperated.

"Well," Jacob said a moment later, pulling himself out of his own thoughts. "Another cup of coffee for me, then I should get some work done."

"Jacob…" Alicia began, but he quickly held up a hand, leaning an arm on the counter almost tiredly as he got his cup.

"If it's all the same, I'd rather not talk about it, especially since I know even under the circumstances you care about your cousin deeply. I'll always be a scientist, and despite our strong attraction to each other, she'll never be happy as a scientist's wife. Suffice it to say I'm not blind to it, and let's just leave it at that. Besides, I still have quite a lot of work to do here, and I can't really blame her for looking for distractions," Jacob said, getting his coffee and pouring in a healthy dose of sugar and cream.

"Well I can," Alicia said firmly. Jacob didn't answer; instead he went over to his equipment and pulled out a set of photos, handing them over to her.

"I hope it helps," Jacob said sincerely. "If anyone can learn how to capture what we saw last night, you can."

"Thank you," Alicia smiled, glancing over them. "You know…no matter what happens with well, personal issues, I've really enjoyed getting to know you over the last few months."

"Thank you," Jacob said with a warm, cheerful smile. "I've enjoyed it as well, and I'll always consider you to be a good friend. Rather nice to be understood on a professional level for a change."

"I know exactly what you mean," Alicia grinned at him, going back to her area and pulling out some sketchbooks as he headed over to his wind charts.

She was soon absorbed in her work, attempting everything from pencil to chalk pastels to try to get even a rudimentary picture to gel…even if she could capture enough to imitate the movement and contrast it would be progress. But even though she didn't doubt on the techniques she used, it still wasn't coming out quite right.

Zoë arrived home late that night, Apparating straight into the entrance tiredly. She frowned then, her eyes darting from Jacob huddled over his desk, barricaded with books as he inked out some scrolls, and then to Alicia who was curled up in her canvas fold-up chair and surrounded by discarded drawings that blanketed the floor.

"Haven't either of you moved all day?" Zoë asked with exasperation. "I take it you haven't eaten either!"

"Zoë, back already?" Jacob said, getting up with a stretch.

"It's after eleven," Zoë scolded him.

"Sorry, didn't realized I'd been sitting there so long, you know it's always so hard to tell the time here," he said, peering out the observatory window.

Zoë simply glanced over at the clock on the wall and shook her head, heading into the kitchen to pull out some Cast'N'Consume dinners out of the icebox.

"Ah! Good idea, dinner! You didn't take the last spaghetti meal, did you?" Jacob asked, working his way over.

"Perish the thought," Zoë said dryly, peeling off the spell seal and grabbing a fork. By the time she had found a place by the fire, the food was hot, if a little on the small portioned side.

"What about you, Alicia?" Jacob asked.

"Is there still a pumpkin casserole left?" she asked, reluctantly putting down her paper and rubbing her hands.

"One 'home-style' pumpkin casserole coming up," Jacob said cheerfully. "Although I swear whoever named that certainly didn't know my mother."

"Xavier said something about the company putting that on the flavor list this year," Zoë said, scrunching her nose up.

"Too bad they aren't as nutritious as they taste, then maybe we wouldn't have to stop working and eat so much," Alicia chuckled jokingly, accepting the offered tray from Jacob.

"Not only that, but it'd probably go a long way to solving world hunger at the same time," Jacob grinned, putting up a stool. "Although I imagine that just eating beans would get a bit dull after awhile."

"Not as dull as you two working all the time. Don't you ever want to take some time off?" Zoë asked them.

"What? And mess up months of work by not getting my daily readings?" Jacob said in surprise.

"Well, you took plenty of time off when we met in the Galapagos," Zoë pointed out, and Jacob cleared his throat, his eyes darting to Alicia with embarrassment before looking back at his wife.

"True, but the work wasn't quite as intense there…" Jacob protested.

"As intense as what?" Zoë asked playfully.

"I wasn't tracking magnetic storms," he said.

"You weren't?" Zoë teased.

"Maybe I should go take a walk," Alicia said quickly, stacking up her papers.

"No need to go that far," Zoë immediately protested. "I'm simply pointing out that he can get away from his work if he's motivated enough. He tans nice too…"

"I'm going," Alicia said firmly, and Jacob suddenly sat down his tray and went over to help her with her sketches.

"No need," Jacob said in a low but pleading voice as he knelt by her, stopping every now and then to look at a sketch.

"When she starts carrying on like one of my parents, there's a need," Alicia murmured back.

"Well, at least the coloring seems to be improving," Jacob said in his normal voice.

"It's really hard to get good perspective from a photo though," Alicia commented in kind.

"Oh wait, I have an idea!" Zoë said cheerfully, getting up and gathering the trays. "Why don't I stay here and take the weather readings, Jacob, and you two can take tomorrow off and relax in Polaris Town? I feel guilty always being the one who gets to run off while you both are stuck here working all day. Besides, Alicia, couldn't you use some change in scenery? I know I could."

A creeping suspicion began to grow in Alicia then, hoping Zoë didn't mean what she suspected she meant by that. From the look on Jacob's face, he guessed that Zoë was up to something as well, but Alicia wasn't sure if he fathomed just how dastardly his wife could be if she got in the mood for mischief.

"If I need a change in scenery, I can pop out anytime to anywhere I like through a painting, so I'm in no rush," Alicia said with a shrug. "But you know, you're right that Jacob could use a break, relax, ponder life…I have a better idea. I know Jacob's instruments pretty well now. I'll stay here and look after things tomorrow, and the two of you can go out together for a change. It'd give you a chance to introduce him to your friends too, Zoë, what do you think, Jacob?"

"Um…I suppose…if you think you can handle it, thank you, Alicia," Jacob said with an unsure smile. "Well, I had better check winds and the magnet reader so I can turn in…might be nice to get to town for a change, at that."

"Fine," Zoë said, but for some reason sounded more irritated than excited now. "I'm going to bed."

Alicia sighed and sat on her own bed as Zoë covered up her head, dimming her light but still keeping the sketchpad on her lap, distractedly drawing a picture of a bicycle with three wheels.


	4. The Second Wave

_If you were one of my original readers when I began writing the JC books…you may recall that in the second series I had originally written a daughter for Percy and Penelope, and later wrote her back out again, writing up an A/N apology, because as it turned out I simply didn't think I would have the time in series three to explore the character the way I wanted to. There was way too much going on then, and Leanna never took place. So, Percy and Penelope bided their time, had two daughters at a later than planned date, and now I'm glad that happened in more ways then one; to give the character ideas due justice, and also because I think it works a lot better with this generation of students. I always did prefer variety in my cooking; a little spice, a little sass, and with all due respect, a bit of 'what the heck was that I just bit into?' Enjoy. JCWriter._

Chapter Four

Second Wave

As excited as Ambrose was about school when he met Lucky in the courtyard, Lucky seemed far from it. It hadn't improved her mood when the Professor had 'suggested' that reading the first few chapters of each book for the last two weeks of her summer reading would be a good idea. After glancing over them, furrowing her brow at them and getting headaches even trying to comprehend it, Lucky began doing all her reading before bed…it was good sleeping material. But Ambrose took it all in stride, not offering one word of complaint but sympathizing with others to the point that Lucky couldn't help but wonder if the young boy guessed the reason behind the change behind the books.

The staff was still gathering at their table when they arrived, many standing near their seats and chatting with one another. The Headmaster was too busy talking to Professor Weasley to notice when Lucky came in, but when Jennifer came in the back door a minute later, she gave the give a wave and a warm smile before stepping over to Severus herself and touching him on the shoulder.

"John wanted me to let you know that Ick is still locked up in the Divination tower and still refuses to talk to anyone," Jennifer murmured to him.

"I'll send Zacchius up right after the ceremony," Severus said in a low voice.

"Oh, is he here now?" Jennifer asked.

"Preoccupying Peeves at the moment," Severus said with a nod.

"I should have guessed," Jennifer said with an amused grin, taking her seat to Severus' left and greeting Pomona, who was sitting on her other side.

"So whom should we be watching for today, Jennifer?" the old Herbology professor asked, and Jennifer could plainly see from her eyes what she was talking to.

"There are three," Jennifer answered in a low voice, trying to keep it between them, but on the other side of Pomona, Zed was creeping closer. "Balmweed's granddaughter, Pimra Glass, and the Coventry twins, Michael and Donald. Next year we'll have the twin's younger sister as well as Carey Bishop's daughter coming in."

"That's quite a crowd," Pomona agreed in a whisper. "In fact, it's been awhile since we've had so many from the board."

"Not since Alex was in school…OW!" Jennifer jumped up suddenly and rubbed her side, having been poked quite painfully despite the fact that Severus was looking forward with his hands cupped in front of him as if he hadn't moved. Seeing that most of the student body was looking at her curiously, Jennifer quickly sat down.

"Every student getting Sorted deserves the same level of attention, regardless of who their parents are," Severus said in a calm, low voice, clear enough that everyone on the main staff heard.

"Were ours treated with the same level of attention?" Jennifer retorted. Severus wisely chose not to answer, gesturing to Hermione to begin.

Despite Severus' warning, he wasn't a bit surprised when everyone sat up a little higher in their seats on both sides of them when the Coventry boys were called. First Donald than Michael was called into "_Slytherin!"_ with a smattering of applause, and Jennifer nodded to herself. The Coventry family was a prestigious family; old money, proud, and yet respected by everyone. The only other house they might have fit in was probably her own, but she couldn't help but think they would probably benefit greatly from Danyelle's advisory over hers. Her mind wandered a minute, clapping on cue, until she heard Hermione call the next name she was waiting for. Pimra Glass stepped up to the stool, as cool as a cucumber and as relaxed as someone who had been born for that moment.

"_Ravenclaw!"_ the Hat declared, and Jennifer clapped and gave her a smile reserved for the incoming Ravenclaws.

"No surprises today, nearly every Balmweed and Glass I've known has been in Ravenclaw," Pomona said approvingly. Now that those where done, Jennifer found herself scanning the students remaining to see if there were any other she recognized. There were quite a few; offspring of one student or another she had had over the years…many of which tended to follow the way of their parents as far as houses were concerned. In fact, it had become so predictable that she began to focus in on those she didn't recognize or who had Muggle parents where at least she could get one wrong every once in awhile as she mentally sorted them in her head as they stepped up. Soon there was only a handful left, and Jennifer found herself smiling at the tall girl with the blonde hair and light freckles standing towards the back, not giving a second thought to her house, wondering rather if there was going to be anything palatable to eat even as Hermione called her up.

"Helena Weasley," Hermione said, the girl smiling privately to her aunt as she took the stool. But as the Hat left Hermione's fingers it suddenly furrowed its brow-like folds.

"_Slytherin!"_ the Hat said.

The noise in the room was suddenly subdued with only a smattering of applause from the tables, while at the Headmaster's table nearly everyone stared at her with dropped jaws. Severus forced himself to recover, promptly nudging Danny on the other side of Hermione's empty seat who finally started clapping, followed more slowly by the rest of the staff.

"Isn't that one of Percy and Penny's? Their other one is a Gryffindor, right?" Pomona asked Jennifer.

"Yeah," Jennifer nodded thoughtfully, watching in disbelief as the girl headed over to the Slytherin table.

Hermione hadn't moved from where she had stood, apparently having a word with the Hat, who gave her a brief answer in kind.

"That girl's going to have a rough time this year, both at home and from her housemates," Pomona said, and Jennifer couldn't help but agree. From the expression on Danny's face, it was obvious the thought had occurred to her as well. Hermione came up to the table then, her face still as white as a sheet as she sat the Hat down and took there place.

"I say, isn't there going to be a single year under your esteemed administration where someone is going to question me about where I put a student?" the Hat huffed. Hermione cleared her throat.

"Don't count on it," Severus said, unceremoniously waving the feast to begin.

"I can't believe it, our own flesh and blood falling to the enemy," Reggie said with disbelief. It was the first words uttered from any of the three Weasleys at the Gryffindor table since the feast had started. Tim quickly put a comforting arm around Constance, who looked positively miserable. "What's Dad going to say? What's Uncle Percy going to say? And I wouldn't be surprised if grandfather had a heart attack over this one."

"Please stop, Reggie," Connie said angrily. "She's not your sister."

"Yeah, drop it, Reggie, it's not the end of the world," Tim said in some attempt to comfort the girl next to him.

"Tim, hell just froze over. It _is_ the end of the world," Reggie said firmly, glancing over at the table. "Look at her. They have Lena at the farthest end of the table…if there were one more student sorted into Slytherin, she'd be falling out of her seat."

"It's true, they're not likely to be friendly to a Weasley over there," Tim admitted, but then immediately regretted it when Connie started to sob.

"'Ey, 'ey, 'ey!" Lucky broke in, frowning at Tim and reaching over to touch the girl's hand. "Come on, get a grip! She ain't in juvie or sentenced to the Tower or somethin' she's just over at the next table! So what, it's just another house."

"No House at Hogwarts is just a house, Lucky," Connie snapped angrily.

"It's alright, Connie, don't take it out on Lucky, she doesn't understand is all," Tim said.

"Man, I am sick of people tellin' me I don't understand all the time here," Lucky muttered.

"Then don't comment when it's obvious that you don't!" Connie snapped at her.

"I was just tryin' to help!" Lucky protested. Just then, she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Professor Weasley standing there.

"Good evening, everyone," Hermione said with a thin smile. "Mind keeping it down a bit? I'd like to think we can handle this minor upset with as much dignity as possible."

"This is _not_ minor," Reggie protested.

"It's also not going to cause the school to come tumbling down," Hermione said firmly.

"No, but the Burrow might," Reggie retorted.

"I will stop by the Burrow and Percy's on the way home tonight," Hermione said in a low voice. "Connie, would you mind having breakfast with me in my office tomorrow morning?" Sniffling a bit but obviously calmer, Connie nodded. "Good, then let's just finish dinner, all right? I'll be up with your schedules in a bit."

"Yes, Professor," Tim said, watching as she went back up to the table. The moment she sat down, Jennifer leaned back to look around the Headmaster and said something to her. Soon Professor Weasley was doing the same thing, both of them ignoring the irritable, disapproving look on the Headmaster's face when the did so. Finally he said something that Tim couldn't make out and the two women immediately sat back up and turned attention to their plates. Reluctantly, the students did the same, even though Connie seemed to pick at her food rather than actually eat it.

After awhile, the Headmaster and several of the professors stood up and broke off into groups, and Headboy Terrence Gable at the Hufflepuff table stood a couple minutes later.

"There we are," Tim said, getting up himself and nodding to Kay, the other Gryffindor prefect. "Let's get upstairs and get settled. From what I've seen so far from the books this year we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"I'll grab the first years," she volunteered, heading over to the end of the table.

"Good, let's walk together then," Tim said, "Come on."

Lucky got up as well, straggling along behind the Weasleys as they walked to the main stairwell. Suddenly she heard someone running behind them and looked up to see a very excited Ambrose dashing to meet them.

"Wow! Wasn't that brilliant? A Weasley Slytherin of all things! Who'd have thought that would ever happen? She always seemed nice, too, you know, not a jerk or anything…" Ambrose began, but then yelped and dove behind Lucky when Connie took a swing at him. Tim and Reggie quickly pulled her back.

"Stop, Constance, he's just a kid!" Tim scolded her.

"If he's old enough to go to Hogwarts, he's old enough to learn when to shut his trap! Ambrose, you say anything about my sister again, and so help me I'll curse you, I don't care who your godfather is!" Connie said angrily.

"What! I just said your sister was nice!" Ambrose flailed. Lucky pulled him back a little further.

"What are you doing here, anyhow, you should be on your way to the Hufflepuff rooms. Terrence will be looking for you," Tim said.

"I just wanted a word with Lucky, sheesh!" Ambrose sighed.

"Very well then, we'll meet you upstairs in a moment, Lucky," Tim said. Reggie looked as if he wanted to say something as well, but Tim turned him around and the three of them headed up the stairs.

"Sorry, they seem to be very testy about that Slytherin junk," Lucky said with a shrug.

"Yeah, I knew they would be," Ambrose grinned. "But I wanna know why it put her in there! There's gotta be _some_ reason!"

"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about, _chico?_" Lucky asked impatiently.

"Hm? Oh, no, I was just gonna ask if you want to get together after breakfast to compare schedules this year. Especially if I make the Quidditch team…" Ambrose said but stopped when he saw the look on her face. "What?"

"Ambrose, you really think the Professor is going to let an eight year old try out for the team? Wake up an' smell the coffee, there's no way he'd let you do it."

"I tried out last year," Ambrose said defiantly.

"Yeah, when everybody thought you were Bill. Forget it, it's not gonna happen, it'd be too dangerous," Lucky said. "This isn't about brains this time. It's about the fact that the rest of your team has got twelve inches on you."

"Then I'll just have to be fast enough to make Seeker," Ambrose said. "See you tomorrow!"

"Ya," Lucky said, shaking her head as he ran up the stairs ahead of her. As she got closer to the Gryffindor tower she picked up the pace, wondering if nearly everyone had gotten in by now. She groaned, realizing she had forgotten to ask the password…but apparently she didn't need it. When she arrived the door was wide open, and she could hear a commotion on the other side. As she walked into the common room, she stopped short just as many of her other housemates had, for the painting of Godric Gryffindor had fallen into dark, boiling, clouds.

"Nobody get too close!" Tim warned the students, crowding around to take a look at it. "Someone go see if Professor Weasley is on her way here!"

Everyone turned to look at Lucky, who was nearest the door. Lucky darted back out to the stairwell, leaning dangerously over the side to see who was on the steps and finally saw two professors casually chatting near the bottom.

"Professor Weasley!" Lucky bellowed out, causing Hermione and Jennifer to peer up startled. "Something's wrong with one of the paintings!" Lucky hesitated then, wondering how silly that sounded. But instead of scolding her as she half expected, the two professors immediately reacted; Jennifer practically launching herself up the stairs while Hermione did her best to follow.

"Where, Lucky?" Jennifer asked as she neared the landing. "And don't lean over the side like that!"

"In our common room," Lucky explained, and Jennifer quickly past the girl and went inside, parting the students to stare at the painting. She stared thoughtfully at it a moment, oblivious to the students standing around her, waiting. But after a moment, she ran back out the door again without a word. The students all began to talk at once and Lucky stood there puzzled until a hand gently nudged her aside as Professor Weasley entered the room, only giving the painting a glance before quieting them.

"Tim and Kay, take a couple more students with you and check all the dorm rooms, make sure there isn't any more paintings in the tower that look like this," Weasley said. "Can everyone but first years sit down, please? Don't worry about the painting," she added calmly, pulling out the schedules and handing them out. "All right, sit back down please. Second years?"

Lucky was still standing by the door when she started passing theirs out, more curious about the painting than what her schedule was like now. She saw movement as Tim and Reggie came back down, Kay and Martha not far behind.

"Our rooms seem normal, Professor," Tim reported.

"Ours too," Kay agreed.

"Good, then please show the first years up. Once you get your schedules, please make your way to your dorms for the evening. Miss Snape?" Lucky quickly brought her attention back to the professor, taking your schedule. "I had to stick you in Transfiguration with Ravenclaw-Slytherin to get you in your Arithmantics II course, I'm afraid. But next year everyone has some electives so I'll doubt you'll get stuck as the only Gryffindor again."

"No problem, Professor," Lucky said. It wasn't as if she was even worried about it. She really hadn't hit it off with her housemates, although the Weasley kids were tolerable. She frowned at the list, realizing the only class she had with Hufflepuff was a double Potions, and that one was first thing in the morning. Well, at least she wouldn't have any trouble finding Ambrose tomorrow, she mused, wondering what he'd think of all of this. Belatedly she remembered she was supposed to go up to her room, but the professor was too busy still giving out schedules to really notice. She had in fact gotten up to fourth years, and the room was starting to clear out a bit. But just as Lucky finally tried to make her way to her dorm, the Headmaster swept in with Mr. Carnegie on his heals, and her curiosity kept her from actually following through.

Considering that several of the fourth year girls had stopped on the stairs ahead of her to gaze at the caretaker, it was easy enough for her to get away with it. Despite a plague of freckles that masked his face and arms, the young man's lithe, tone physique and untamable golden hair was enough to cause a traffic jam of female students wherever he happened to be working at in the castle; especially on the occasions he was wearing his tight black shirt and pants as opposed to his robes. He also wore a pair of black leather gloves that he never seemed to take off; further adding to the mystique as the girls made guesses about his marital status.

"Ah, there you are, Headmaster Snape," Hermione said, finishing the fourth year and then started dividing the rest up for Tim and Kay to hand out.

"I've been busy," Severus murmured in a low voice, shaking his head at the painting. "This one will have to come down as well, Carnegie…tonight if possible."

"As well?" Hermione asked.

"I'll go ahead and do it now, then, sir," John said, pulling out a piece of cloth from his pocket. A few shakes later, the tarp was nearly the length of the room.

"Painting of Dame Rachel in the library and one of the lake in the Hufflepuff rooms of all things," Severus said.

"Well we can guess how old the Rachel one is, how old is the other?" Hermione asked.

"I have no idea," Severus admitted, and Hermione.

"If it's listed in a book somewhere, I'll find out. I'd like to know for certain if age has anything to do with it," Hermione said. Severus nodded to her, but felt uneasy as he thought of the all the paintings in the castle that would be as old as the ones he knew to have been damaged.

Suddenly Severus blinked and ran down the stairs, his destination firmly in mind from the moment he touched the first step until he came off the landing to the second floor a few steps later. He took great strides then to reach the Trophy Room, stepping in to look over the doorway.

Severus allowed himself a sigh of relief when he saw the portrait of Caprica Dusthorn still there, still sleeping. A moment later he saw movement and looked down to see Jennifer in the hall, peering at him quizzically.

"She's fine," he said in a low voice, his eyes darting over all the other paintings in the room to make sure they were all in tact before stepping into the hall. "Have you found any more? The ones in the entry hall?"

"All four of them were fine," Jennifer assured them.

"Slytherin rooms?"

"Went down there right after I got done at Hufflepuff…they were in a meeting but Danyelle checked and all of them were fine. Is there even a portrait of him in there?"

"Statues, except one small one of him as a boy…probably the only one safe to put up. Come to think of it, it would probably be one of the very oldest portraits here."

"If so, then they're definitely not going in order of age. Dame Rachel's portrait was done while she was in the castle, I'm quite sure of that," Jennifer said. Severus pondered it for a moment.

"I believe I am going to move Dusthorn as a precaution, either way," he said, stepping back into the room.

"You're going to wake her," Jennifer warned.

"Hopefully not, but if so, we'll just have to deal with it. If this painting falls victim to what's going on, the rest of security will certainly follow. We'll have lost the war before we even know where the battlefront lies," Severus said, taking out his wand and carefully levitating it down. Jennifer immediately offered up her cloak to cover it.

As they left the room, neither noticed a figure in one of the paintings in the Trophy Room watching them closely until they were out of view. The figure then leaned on the edge of the frame, lost in thought as the students, ghosts, and paintings near him played cards, oblivious to what was going on. After a moment, the figure walked out of the frame.

Severus got the portrait to the Headmaster's Study as quickly as he dared without stirring her, hanging her on the wall still covered.

"I'm not sure that she's actually safer in here, but it'll put my mind at ease if I know the moment there's a change," Severus said.

"You won't if you leave my cloak on her like that," Jennifer said teasingly.

"I'd rather keep it on for the evening in case she was stirred by the move," Severus said.

"I'll go grab a drape out of our room then," Jennifer offered, slipping behind the curtain a moment and coming back out with a cloth. Carefully the two of them replaced it without uncovering the main portrait, stepping back to listen for Caprica's snore among all the others. "All right, Severus, so now what do we do?"

Severus pondered it a moment, still staring at the covered portrait.

"I have no idea," he admitted. Jennifer felt a chill down her back.

"Since when are you ever out of ideas?" Jennifer asked.

"This is hardly my area of expertise. You are the items expert," Severus pointed out.

"Well, from an items point of view, I've run every test I know and they've all come out normal. Are you certain it's not some sort of ancient spell, Severus?"

"Not any that I know of…and before you suggest it, I am _not _asking Merlin."

"No, Severus of course not. Besides, paintings of a profound nature are hardly his specialty either," Jennifer said in such a way that Severus gave her a dirty look. "Don't give me that, you've been debating asking Pyther yourself, I can see that quite plainly."

"Asking Francis Pyther to come here is the last thing I want to do right now, you know that," Severus murmured.

"From a personal standpoint, yes, but we're in the Study," Jennifer pointed out. "Should we wait any longer, Headmaster?"

Severus sighed.

"Get him here as soon as possible," Severus said at last, unlocking one of his desk drawers. "And I need you personally to go, since you'll be able to read him. It'll need to be handled with subtlety."

"That much is certain," Jennifer agreed as he handed her a key and glanced at his watch.

"Just after eight here, what time is it there?" he pondered.

"It should be late enough in the year that shouldn't matter much," Jennifer said.

"I assume you know where you're going," Severus said in an almost disapproving tone.

"Yes, I've had the address Rosmerta gave me for a while now…hopefully that'll be enough, they use odd degrees directions there. If I take the Iceland jump I should be able to get there in two port stations."

"Well, just get it done and get back as quickly as possible. You have an early class tomorrow," he frowned. "With him, preferably, without him if necessary…but if you come without him, it had better be for more than just his fear of me. If it comes to that, tell him if he doesn't come, I'm likely to go after him myself."

"Yes, that'd be subtle," Jennifer said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before hurrying out of the Study.


	5. Darkness

Chapter Five

Darkness

Jacob knew from what had happened the night before that a day in town with Zoë wasn't about to be an easy one; he was more certain when he woke up the next morning to find a note on the pillow saying, "Went ahead early, will meet you at The Chocolate Elf for breakfast, Zoë." Part of him knew why. But a greater part of him just didn't want to believe it. He was, after all, optimistic by nature, and he held on to a tiny thread of hope that the marriage was salvageable for dear life. Quickly he got dressed, wondering how long she had been gone, and then gently woke Alicia to give her some quick instructions before Apparating.

Even that early, Polaris Town was bustling; for now that the sun skirted the horizon without breaking it, time became a moot point. Tourist trap Christmas shops packed the streets next to souvenir and food vendors wearing outlandish outfits in hopes of making quick coin off the wizards and witches who had come to visit it. Even this far from the holidays, business had already started to pick up as some of the stores pushed temporary Halloween displays in the windows to attract people to come in.

Jacob Apparated in the middle of Santa Claus Lane, briskly walking past the Ice Fountain across Reindeer Circle and over to the restaurant, hoping to beat Zoë to it so that he'd have the opportunity to look for her. But as he approached, he found her dutifully sitting at one of the tables outside of the café, reading the local paper with her back to an order brazier.

"Good morning, Zoë," Jacob said with a smile, holding up two fingers to the waiter before sitting down across from her. "So what's new in the Peppermint Post?"

"Well, you might be interested in the fact the local weather predictor is seeing a twenty-four hour magnetic storm next week," Zoë shrugged, accepting the cup of mocha coffee from the waiter.

"Really? But that's fantastic news, especially with the solar wind increase and all! I can't wait to tell Alicia," Jacob said enthusiastically. "Sounds like she'll have plenty of opportunities to try that painting again." Zoë put her paper down then, looking at him searchingly.

"You sound pretty excited for her," she said after a moment.

"Of course I am, aren't you? If she actually accomplishes what she came here to do, well, it'd be rather like me making a significant scientific breakthrough, or like…like…actually, I'm not sure I can think up a good metaphor for you," he admitted, thinking about it. Zoë sighed and looked at the menu, frowning as she tried to find something that wasn't coated in powdered sugar. "Maybe coming up with an original dress that wins public acclaim after the Academy's? No, that's probably not quite the same since that's just a job to you…"

"Don't strain yourself," Zoë said dryly when it was obvious he was still thinking of it, glancing over at the Elven waiter. "I'll have the maple ham, preferably without the maple glaze."

"Then it wouldn't be maple ham," the Elven waiter said curiously. Zoë ignored him.

"Well, I'll take a piece of sugar plum pie to go along with this delicious mocha coffee," Jacob said. Zoë stared at him, but didn't say anything. The Elven waiter cheerfully repeated it in turn then excused himself. "But honestly, Zoë, as I was saying," he continued, despite Zoë's sigh of exasperation. "Haven't you ever felt that…you know…'Eureka' moment? That bolt of lightning? That blast of epiphany that makes your whole life seem to fall into place in a split second? That's rather what I'm talking about."

Suddenly there was a change in Zoë's face and she seemed to zone out, the change in expression so striking that for a minute that Jacob thought that perhaps she finally understood what he was talking about. More than that, she might have just had an epiphany of her own, and it was in the process of working its way to the surface even as he watched her intently.

It was then he heard someone call her name, and as he looked behind his shoulder he suddenly spied a tall, muscular man with jet hair and a thin mustache heading towards them.

"Oh," Jacob said, feeling the thread of hope snapping inside of him. "You know, I believe I've finally thought of an appropriate metaphor."

"That's great," Zoë said distractedly, standing and waving the man over to them. "Hey, Tony! Come join us!"

"Maybe for a moment or two, got a game today, you know," the man said, winking at her and then turning a kind smile to Jacob. "And you are?"

"Tony, this is Jacob Greencastle, my husband," Zoë said.

"Oh, the _scientist_, yes," Tony said in a way Jacob wasn't quite comfortable with. "Zoë told me all about you of course."

"Jacob, this is Anthony Brutus, one of Xavier's friends I told you about…he's a Chaser for the Yukon Golddiggers; Bertie Botts is one of the sponsors," Zoë explained.

"I see," Jacob said, glancing at the man's outstretched hand and taking it reluctantly.

"Everyone calls me Tony, my parents were a bit unforgiving with names," he explained.

"Yes, rather ironic…" Jacob said with a thin smile.

"Just like mine," Zoë said quickly, and Tony laughed at that, apparently having heard it before. "Protein sandwich and pumpkin juice for Mr. Brutus, please," she added to the waiter when he came back with their food. Jacob suddenly lost his appetite for sweets.

"I'm rather glad I caught you, Zoë, I got your box tickets for tonight's game, best seats in the house…here, here's one for you husband too," Tony said with a cheerful smile that was quickly wearing on Jacob.

"Thank you, we'll consider going then," Jacob said politely.

"Oh, nonsense, of course we'll go!" Zoë protested.

"Yes, you should go! It might do you a bit of good getting out in the fresh air for a change, under the sunlamps, just what you need," Tony told Jacob companionably. "You know what they say, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," he joked.

"Well, that may be so, but I'd rather work hard and make sort of contribution to the world then spend my life doing nothing worthwhile at all," Jacob said, poking at his pie. Tony just laughed in response, thanking the waiter and guzzling down the pumpkin juice and sandwich.

"Well, it's been fun, but I need to go warm up and all. Make sure you come on time now…your wife's been a real good luck charm for me, Jacob," Tony said, nudging her chin with his fist. "I'll see you in a bit!"

As he left, Zoë gazed at Jacob warily, but he wasn't looking at her; he seemed too busy picking the bits of candy of his pie.

"The game shouldn't be all that bad, Jacob, it probably won't last long since they're playing Northwest today," Zoë said.

"I've never much cared for Quidditch…at least not since I figured out the relative air currents around a Snitch at full speed," Jacob murmured. "How about we do some shopping instead?"

"Why don't we just go shopping after the game?" Zoë suggested.

"Well, I'd rather not leave Alicia alone with the instruments all day," Jacob said. "I should probably pick up groceries as well, considering how low we're getting on ready-to-eat meals."

"You can do that anytime," Zoë said impatiently. "Why would you want to spend your one day off running errands? Besides, if you're worried about dinner, Xavier usually takes the team and his friends to the Snow Crab Review after the games…"

"Well, I'm not really into all of that, am I, Zoë?" Jacob said in a tone much more blunt than he had meant to be. Zoë simply looked at him, and Jacob in turn didn't know what to say either. "You know, I think I'm going to have a bit of a walk. Why don't you go spend time with your friends like you always do, and I'll go run some errands and meet you back home?"

"Works for me," Zoë said, paying the bill herself. "Besides, you're probably right. Alicia shouldn't have to be alone all day," she added, getting up with a wave before hurrying off towards the Pitch.

Jacob leaned back in his seat and exhaled, closing his eyes a moment. Finally he pulled himself together, drinking his cold coffee and walking down the street with his hands in his pockets, looking gloomily into the windows of the shops despite being in no mood to shop at all.

Suddenly, Jacob saw something in one of the windows that made him stop cold. Not believing what he was seeing, he pressed his face to the glass to get a better look before dashing into the shop and hurrying over to the wall by the front counter.

It was a painting of an Aurora Borealis in exquisite detail. The color and luminescence was perfect as it danced across the polar night sky, both brilliant and subtle, chilling and warm, and although not quite the same as feeling it in person, it echoed it, reminding him of it and everything connected to it. It was as if the Aurora itself was a living thing with a soul of its own; and regardless, it was absolutely evident had a magic all its own.

"Brilliant! Fantastic! Absolutely astonishing!" Jacob said, hardly even realizing he spoke at loud.

"Do you like it sir?" A primly dressed witch clerk asked him.

"Exactly what we've been looking for!" Jacob said in agreement.

"So you're interested in purchasing it then?"

"Couldn't afford it in the slightest," Jacob said, but still with the same smile of amazement on his face. The woman's smile faded, however, and she tried to excuse herself. "Might I inquire about the artist? Do you know who it is? I don't suppose it's someone local?"

"Somewhat. Mr. Franks is a resident here half the year, but if you're looking for a better deal, I'm afraid you won't get one that way…"  
"Is he in town now? How hard would it be to see him?" Jacob asked insistently.

"Probably impossible, but he has a shop south of the pole…"

"All shops are south of the pole," Jacob said impatiently. "How about an address?"

"Aren't you going to buy anything?" the woman asked irritably. Jacob's eyes darted to the counter and he quickly grabbed a bag of Bertie Bott's beans. He broke out into a wider grin and the woman sighed, putting the address down on his receipt.

Like a bloodhound on a trail, Jacob left the shop in long strides, staring intently at the address and crossing the circle, zigzagging down several streets to check street names before finally finding the right one. It was a narrow street, filled with lower end gift shops with gaudy décor and lights attempting to entice people in. Finally he stopped in front of the address and stared up at the building unsurely.

For among the brightly colored snow, Yule, and Christmas themed shops was a lackluster shop front, its windows and doors all covered with a thick coat of black paint. In fact, it looked rather like it was closed. He glanced at the other shops along the street, checking their addresses, frowning when he was quite sure this was the address. Perhaps there was a number wrong, he wondered?

It was as he was standing there, pondering what to do next, that he happened to notice a woman in a bright red hooded parka with white fur trim who had stopped in front of the address as well. Folding up the paper in her hand, she went right in.

Well, Jacob thought, apparently it was open after all. Cautiously he went over, a bit afraid that he was mistaken, opening the door and looking in to see an art studio. Feeling more certain Jacob stepped in, taking a moment to remove his gloves and adjust to the lighting. Quite a number of paintings hung on black curtains around the room, lit with sconces filled with glowing orbs.

The woman who had come in before him hadn't moved far from the door. She was busy carefully studying a strange abstract painting that had been hung just inside of it. Jacob glanced at it thoughtfully, tilting his head to the side as he tried to follow one of the lines only to get distracted by another one. It was a rather busy painting, and not much in the style Alicia would be interested in.

He stepped further into the room, glancing around until he saw a painting of another Aurora Borealis. Eagerly he went up to it and studied it, satisfied that it had to be the same artist. This one was a striking red, with only wisps of green playing around the ridges, and Jacob found himself sighing wistfully, wishing he had been there to see that one in person.

"May I help you, sir?" asked a low voice; soft and yet easily heard in the silence of the room. Jacob turned to see a man standing in the shadows by a parted curtain.

"Yes, I'm looking to speak to the artist who painted these," Jacob said. "Might you be he?"

"Perhaps. Have you taken an interest in artists, Mr. Greencastle?" the man asked quietly.

"I have a dear friend who's an artist," Jacob explained, "one of the best in the world, although she would deny it. But she can't paint this! She's tried so many times, but she can't get it right!"

"No, I'm not surprised," the man said distantly, glancing over where the woman had been standing, but he didn't see her any more. "Until you understand the darkness, you can't truly appreciate the light. Tell her that."

"Well…all right, although I'm not sure exactly what you mean by it," Jacob admitted.

"Darkness can be many things, it can be as simple as the sky before a storm, or it can be quite personal," Mr. Franks said. "What is darkness to you, Mr. Greencastle?"

Jacob grew quiet for a moment, haunted by his own thoughts.

"Darkness is watching someone you care about slip out of your hands…all the while knowing there isn't a damn thing you can do about it," Jacob murmured softly.

"Hm," Mr. Franks said, a faint smile on his lip as he shook his head slightly. "It appears we're more alike than I would have thought." Jacob didn't know why, but he felt a strange kinship to the artist at that moment, even though he still couldn't quite make out his face. "Is there anything else? I do appear to have another customer waiting…somewhere…" he said, glancing around thoughtfully.

"I suppose not," Jacob said with a sigh. "You know, there's another magnetic storm coming up in a week, or so I'm told, so we should have activity then…if she has trouble after that, might I have her call on you?"

"No," Mr. Franks said quickly, his eyes darting about again. "No, please, you may come again if you like, but I'd rather she not know there's an artist studio in town. I would rather not get in the way just now."

"I don't really see how you could get in the way, she's only here to learn how to paint the aurora," Jacob said with a frown.

"There are reasons, let's just leave it at that."

"Very well, Mr. Franks," Jacob said resignedly. "But I will give her your advice."

"Oh yes," Mr. Franks said distantly. "That, at least, she has from me." Jacob nodded thoughtfully and headed out of the shop, lost in thought. It was only much later that he began to wonder how Franks had known his name.

The artist made sure that Jacob was well down the street before he turned and looked around his studio.

"You may as well come out, Jennifer, I know you're there," Francis said tiredly. "As if I could forget those green eyes anywhere, even at a brief glance."

"I'm sorry, Pyther, I really didn't mean to interrupt," Jennifer said sincerely, pulling down the hood.

"Well, if you're worried about your daughter, as I'm sure you've just heard she's quite safe," Francis said crisply.

"No, Pyther…at least, I'm not worried about you, although from Jacob's eyes I wonder now what Alicia's gotten herself into," Jennifer said.

"Suffice it to say that Zoë has been in rare form lately," Francis said, shaking his head.

"Well, I'm afraid I'm not here on family behalf so much as I'm on the school's at the moment," Jennifer said. Francis frowned in response. "There's been a breach in security concerning the school and more importantly the paintings. Somehow they're…the images in them…are disappearing."

"Well, paintings do wander from time to time…"

"No, it's nothing like that, this is different. Not just portraits, but the backgrounds, scenery everything, leaving behind this dark grey mass…really, I don't know how to explain it, but it seems to be spreading, mostly paintings before your time, but perhaps you might have some ideas?"

"Not without seeing them, Jennifer, and I can't possibly go back to Hogwarts. You know what Severus said…"

"Pyther, Severus was the one who sent me to fetch you," Jennifer said bluntly. Pyther blinked at her.

"If that's true, then things must be dire," he murmured.

"Well, yes, but it's not the way you think. If anything, he was more reluctant to call you because of what's going on here, but he didn't feel like he had in the choice in the matter," Jennifer said. "Please, Pyther. I know it must be terribly difficult for you but there's more at stake here than just us."

"Goodness, Jennifer, I wish you didn't chose the word 'stake' just now," Pyther said. Jennifer relaxed a little then, seeing that his mind was contemplating the logistics of going, counting out the hours in his head. "Around nine there, I suppose it's safe enough to go now. But don't expect me to stay for long. I'm rather busy here, you know," he said, pointedly looking around the empty shop.

"Thank you, Pyther," Jennifer said sincerely. She patiently waited for him to close the shop before taking out an ornate Port Key.

"So you met an artist in town, you said?" Alicia asked, getting him some coffee. "What happened with Zoë?"

"Oh, she went off with her friends, so I did some exploring on my own," Jacob explained, quickly waving it away. "Anyhow, one of the gift shops had a lone picture of an Aurora Borealis, so I asked the artist about it and he said, let me see… 'until you understand the darkness, you can't truly appreciate the light.' He said that would help you."

"That is supposed to help?" Alicia said, staring at him blankly.

"Well, that is what he told me, I don't know anything about art," Jacob said defensively. "But it was a beautiful painting."

"Maybe I should go take a look at it," Alicia murmured.

"Oh, well, assuming I could find the same shop again. They all look alike down there," Jacob said. "I need to check my instruments." Alicia murmured the phrase under her breath again; looking at her first botched painting again.

"You know, I wonder if it's a question of timing or something," she said at last, and Jacob looked up with interest. "I mean, I started this after the aurora started to appear. Maybe what I need to do is get out there and paint the sky before it starts and then add it in after it breaks."

"You know, I think you may be onto something there," Jacob agreed.

"Maybe that advice wasn't so bad after all," Alicia grinned back, and started going through her equipment, checking her supplies.

Just then, Zoë Apparated in, her eyes darting between them before making a sound of pure frustration.

"What's wrong, Zoë? You're home early," Alicia said with surprise.

"Just forgot something," Zoë snapped, heading over to her jewelry box and digging in it before leaving again. Alicia glanced at Jacob and the two of them shrugged at each other then got back to work.


	6. The Plight of Hufflepuff

A/N: whoops, my Midwest roots are showing. Thanks, Elaine, fixed. JCWriter.

Chapter Six

The Plight of Hufflepuff

Francis Pyther was more than a little surprised to find Jennifer and himself landing in the middle of the Headmaster's Study, but Jennifer simply seemed puzzled that it was empty. She glanced at her watch. Descartes picked that moment to start crying out like a sick pterodactyl, and Francis instantly dove to the floor.

"Pyther, really! He likes fresh meat," Jennifer added mischievously while Francis timidly uncovered his head. "He's probably trying to tell me something…yes, here's a note…Hufflepuff. We'd better get down there then," she said, opening the door for Francis and watching his face carefully as they left.

It was strange…very strange coming back to the school after so many years. Francis had been sure for a long time that he'd never see the inside of it again. He glanced at each painting as they headed down the back stairs, some smiling warmly at him and others he had cleaned over the year calling out his name in joyful surprise.

It seemed to be taking forever to get down the stairs, and Francis was getting more nervous by the minute, especially when ghosts started popping out of walls to greet him and welcome him back. Even Janus was there, waiting patiently at the landing when they arrived.

"About time you got back, Pyther. We've been having the devil of a time getting Mad Ick out of his room since this started," Janus said gruffly.

"Zack has been working with him," Jennifer pointed out to the ghost with a frown.

"To be sure, but he always used to listen to Pyther," Janus muttered.

"I'm not here to step on any toes, Janus," Francis said quietly.

"That's too bad. Sometimes toes need stepped on," Janus declared, eying him.

"Janus really! Can't you see he's anxious enough as it is?" Jennifer said with an exasperated sigh.

"It's all right, Jennifer, I'm not anxious," Francis said quietly with a nervous smile. "I'm simply terrified out of my mind, that's all." Jennifer paused outside of the door.

"There's no need. He'd no more bite you at this point than you would bite him," Jennifer reassured him. Janus snickered loudly, and Jennifer glared at him. "Janus, I swear if you don't clear out this instant, I will ask Alexandria to pick some other name if it's a boy."

"Ah. Well, I suppose I'll go work on Ick some more," Janus decided.

"Splendid idea. Remind him he has classes tomorrow," Jennifer suggested as the ghost faded away. "Come, Pyther, enough stalling. I'm sure the Headmaster is waiting on us, after all," she said, walking over to the door. "'Never put off until tomorrow what you should have finished yesterday.'"

"Good advice," Pyther commented politely. Jennifer simple gave him a wry smile before leading him into the common room. She paused a moment after entering, frowning at the large painting covered with clouds.

"But it was fine when I left earlier this evening!" Jennifer exclaimed. From her chair, Pomona looked over at her glumly. Severus, who had been standing in front of the paintings with hand over his mouth in thought, glanced over at them, nodding at the expression on Jennifer's face before his eyes darted to Francis. Francis, who was staring at the painting in wonder, immediately felt the eyes on him and turned his attention back to Severus, somehow looking paler than he already was.

"Good, you're back," Severus said. "Mr. Pyther, I believe you know Pomona…this is John Carnegie, our caretaker. Zack is helping as well, he should be here any moment."

"What happened to Filch?" Francis whispered to Jennifer, nodding to John who smiled unsurely at him. Apparently nobody had warned him that Francis was a vampire.

"Died a few years ago," Jennifer murmured.

"Oh," Francis said, feeling even more out of the loop than before.

"Care to take a closer look?" Severus asked, ignoring the whispering completely. Reluctantly Francis walked up to stand by Severus, while Jennifer made no move to come forward, realizing how much nerve it had taken out of Francis just to step up there like that. "No reason for concern. Jennifer has thoroughly checked and rechecked these to make certain they are safe to be around…for most people," Severus amended. Francis looked over at Severus with a frown, but Severus didn't return his gaze. "We now have thirteen paintings in this state…nearly all of them older paintings but we're not sure of an actual pattern or connection to the spread other than age, for they seem to be occurring in random places around the castle. Dewhurst seems to be one of the first; then Ravenclaw and a few of the original staff and some scenery, my door guard, and then tonight, Gryffindor, Rachel, this scene of the lake, and then about a half an hour ago, this one of Hufflepuff."

"Well, what were the paintings doing at the time?" Francis asked.

"Preparing for the school year, I imagine…"

"No, I don't mean from a security perspective, but a personal one," Francis explained, glancing around. "Isn't there a Brunhilda somewhere around here? I remember her, she didn't used to ever miss anything…oh there she is…" he said, stepping over to a small painting in an ornate frame on an adjacent wall. A large tree was in the foreground with a broken broom dangling from its branches.

"Looks like she took after me," Jennifer said wryly.

"Oh, my no, she was actually a brilliant Quidditch player, just very bad luck…bad strain of Pooka blood, I think," Francis said, glancing at the scene thoughtfully. "She was a classmate of mine…father painted this one…come out, Hildie, I see you behind that tree. There's nothing to be frightened of."

"Nothing to be frightened of?" The seventh-year girl said, peering out from the tree. "That's a lot coming from you, Francis, especially after that incident with the shadow curse! I thought they'd never get you onto the top of the Astrology Tower again…"

"I'm quite sure they're not interested in my personal school history," Francis said impatiently. "Do you happen to know if Hufflepuff might have gone for a walk around the lake? Perhaps just before the students arrived?"

"She might have," Hildie admitted. "She probably went to see what was wrong with Dame Rachel, because I saw her in the lake painting. She was upset."

"Upset about Rowena perhaps?" Francis said. Hildie shrugged.

"I don't know, Francis, they aren't exactly my crowd, are they? I'd rather hang out in the Trophy Room when I'm bored. Why is Hufflepuff's painting like that? Is she dead? Or just damaged?" Hildie asked. Jennifer glanced over at Severus with a frown, but Severus seemed to be lost in thought.

"I…I'm afraid I don't know yet, Hildie, but thank you," Francis said quietly, turning back around. "I wonder if Rachel might have gone to Gryffindor about the Ravenclaw painting as well? Or perhaps she spoke with another infected painting."

"Infected?" Jennifer repeated, and then blinked. "Severus, didn't Icarus say something about an infection as well? At the staff meeting, when he was telling us to watch out for Alicia…"

"Is something wrong with Alicia?" Francis asked before he had a chance to remember whom he was talking to. Severus gave his wife a warning look, knowing full well she wasn't about to heed it.

"Icarus thinks that her coming into contact with one of these paintings would be dangerous," Jennifer finished, watching as Francis stared at the dark moving clouds.

"Well, if this anomaly is being spread by paintings contacting other paintings as I theorize, I'd say he's right," Francis said, glancing over at Severus. "Is there any way I could get a detailed list of the paintings affected by this, Professor?" Severus nodded to John.

"Yes, sir, I have one right here," John said, handing the paper in his hand to Francis, who looked it over thoughtfully.

"We need to find a way to stop this contagion from spreading," Francis said after a moment. "We need to ask all the paintings not to visit one another for awhile, and we need to find out exactly how long this fog thing appears after a painting comes in contact with one another, and also to set up a sort of sick ward where we can quarantine paintings that have this or we suspect may develop it."

"If we ask all the paintings to stop visiting each other, won't the spread stop on its own?" Pomona asked. Pyther shook his head.

"Whether or not they heed that advice is directly related to the subject painted and the sophistication of the painting…some are less detailed than others, for example, and others…well, some just can't help themselves. Paint a mother and a small child in two separate paintings and regardless of what you might say to them, most mothers would still sneak over to check on their child. They are images of the souls within and the soul that painted them…and even if they have some conscious understanding of who and what they are, they are still bound by the memories, personality, and flaws of the subject they were painted about," Pyther explained.

"Perhaps we should move the paintings that tend to wander the most into their own containment room," Jennifer suggested.

"And they'll simply move out of it whenever they like. Moving the frame is hardly going to keep them from moving around the castle," Severus pointed out.

"Not necessarily, sir," Pyther began, gazing at Severus solemnly. "I believe I may have a solution to that although…" he paused a moment. "Well, it may complicate things." Severus squinted.

"Of course!" Jennifer said excitedly, reading his face clearly. "Merlin's Paradox Painting! We can put it in the room with the high-risk paintings and it should keep them from leaving the room. Pyther, you're brilliant!"

"Thank you, Jennifer, but it is only a suggestion," Francis said quickly, aware of Severus' searching gaze. "I really can't guarantee it'd work, and it's hardly my place to even recommend it, all things considering…"

"I asked you here for a professional opinion, Mr. Pyther. If you're smart, you'll keep it that way," Severus advised him bluntly.

"Yes, of course, Headmaster," Francis said quietly, nodding.

"Good, I'm glad we have an understanding then," Severus said briskly. "Fetch it."

Francis blinked in surprise.

"Fetch it, sir?" Francis repeated cautiously.

"I hardly stuttered," Severus snapped. "See if you can get away tomorrow evening as well and bring it with you. That will give me time to set aside a pair of rooms for this and perhaps start sorting paintings. If I arrange for the Great Hall to be emptied, is there any way of calling a meeting of paintings other than through Caprica Dusthorn? I hardly want her awake right now."

"Yes, in fact, I would rather you didn't, Professor Snape. She tends to move a lot when she's awake, although you may want to speak with whomever your painting secretary is about this…" Francis said, hesitating.

"Dippet," Severus said thoughtfully. "Although those don't necessarily have to move out of their frames to do their job. I'll handle informing the portraits in the Study myself, and I'll have Hermione speak with Demura."

"Of course," Francis agreed. "Might I stay a bit longer and question some of the other paintings before I leave?"

"Stay as long as you will, just don't forget the sun still rises here," Severus said unconcernedly.

"I'd hardly forget that," Francis said dryly.

"My professors, however, should be getting some rest, for we're likely to have a long day tomorrow. John, you'd better move these two paintings with the others. I'll find a more suitable place for them in the morning," Severus said.

"Right away, Professor," John agreed.

"Very well, good evening then," Severus said, nodding to them before turning towards the door.

"We really appreciate this, Pyther, thank you," Jennifer added sincerely.

"And I appreciate the opportunity to redeem myself, somewhat," Francis said in a low voice.

"That remains to be seen," Severus said expressionlessly, opening the door. Jennifer gave Pyther a warm, encouraging smile before joining Severus, listening for the door to close before she spoke again.

"You know, Severus, it wouldn't have hurt you to say thank you," Jennifer scolded as they walked towards the back stairs.

"Why, when I knew you would do so for me?" Severus mused, ignoring the look she gave in response.

Jennifer woke abruptly to a blaring noise in her ears and sat up covering them. As her heart slipped back out of her throat, she realized it was a sound of a trumpet. Glancing at her bedside clock she growled ferociously and kicked the covers off, throwing something on before storming through Severus' sitting room and opening the door to the Study, tossing back the curtains.

"Severus Snape!"

"Headmaster," Severus said calmly, his back to her where he sat writing at his desk.

"Don't you give me that. I'm on our side of the room!"

"And I'm obviously in the Headmaster's Study," he said calmly.

"Didn't you once tell me in no uncertain terms that you would never give in to John Carnegie's yearly request to play reveille in the morning? What happened to that bit where first bell was good enough and if they were late, they were deducted and all of that?"

"That definitely sounds like a school matter," Severus said, not looking up from his work.

"Fine," Jennifer said, walking in and standing in front of the desk with her arms folded. "Well, Professor?"

"Do you usually come into this study in your bathrobe?" Severus asked sternly.

"I do when it's five-thirty in the morning!" Jennifer answered hotly. "And you didn't answer my question."

"Simple enough. I changed my mind," Severus said.

"Changed your mind?" Jennifer said in disbelief. Severus paused, carefully holding the pen over the inkwell.

"Well, it occurred to me that at the suggested time of wake up call, I would have already been up at least half an hour," Severus explained, ignoring her glowering. "And, what with the new books and all, I thought it might be to our advantage for the students to actually get up early enough that they wouldn't be stumbling half asleep in their first classes. It was my idea to add the Decibel Enhancer to the horn, though. I was quite sure it wasn't loud enough to get past the Slytherin earmuffs before…"

"Lovely, that's just lovely! You know I always sleep until six!"

"Now, now, waking up a half an hour will hardly kill you, and you don't need any beauty rest…"

"Don't you start that with me…as you pointed out, we're in the Study," Jennifer said, wagging a finger at him.

"Did you recall you have a morning Double Potions today?" Severus added. Jennifer tried to come up with some sort of comeback, but finally just growled in frustration, storming back to her room. At least she found a pot of hot coffee waiting on her sitting room table when she got back.

But if Jennifer had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed that morning, most of the students were so startled that they tried to get up on both sides of the bed at once. Lucky simply put her pillows and covers over her head and rolled over; while down in Hufflepuff, Ambrose nearly took off the canopy of his bed trying to climb the bedpost.

"What in blazes is that noise?" Terrence Gable asked, sitting up in the bed next to Ambrose. He looked around and laughed when he saw him, quickly getting up and lifting the boy down. "I doubt we're under attack from trumpets, but I'd like to get my hands on who did it."

"Me too!" Ambrose agreed. "Can I use the Prefect bath today?"

"You're going to get me in trouble," Terrence said with exasperation at his grin. "I didn't follow the rules to get to Head Boy only for you to dash them all."

"Well, what's the good of having you stuck babysitting me then if I can't take advantage of it?" Ambrose asked.

"Oh, you figured that out, did you?" Terrence said with amusement, mussing up the boy's hair before walking over to get in his closet.

"Why else would I be in here, especially after what happened last year after everyone found out I was a phony," Ambrose said ruefully. "I slept on the couch in a common room for a week."

"I remember," Terrence chuckled, getting dressed. "And then the Headmaster decided to get involved after they hit your bed with every nasty thing they can think of only for him to say, 'Well, Mr. Bailey, you made this bed, so as far as I'm concerned you can sleep in it,' Terrence said, mimicking Snape so well that Ambrose had to grin at him. "I am sorry it took me a week to get up enough courage to tell him you'd starting camping in the common room, considering how quickly it fixed things. I'd no sooner walked the distance from the Study to my dorm that I found myself tripping over your trunk in the dark."

"Thanks for that," Ambrose put in gratefully.

"It's all right. To be perfectly honest, you remind me of my kid brother," Terrence admitted. "Of course, by the time he gets in here, you'll be in your fifth year, I think. Hey, don't you have an early class today?"

"Yeah, Potions…and I promised to meet Lucky this morning too," Ambrose said, opening his own trunk.

"All right. We'll wait and try to smuggle you in after dinner during my bath hour," Terrence winked at him.

"Thanks!" Ambrose said brightly, pulling on his things and grabbing his books before following him out of their room.

There were still quite a number of sleepy, grumpy Hufflepuffs hanging out in the common room when they came in, often glancing at the wall from time to time. Ambrose found himself looking at the empty wall himself…a curious outline left in the two places where the paintings had come down.

"I wonder what happened to them? I can't think I've heard anything like it happening before," Ambrose said.

"It hasn't," Delia broke in from beside them. She was sitting on the couch with a paper in one hand and a stack of letters in the other as usual. "At least, nothing that the newspapers ever reported on, and my father says he's never heard anything like it either. Has anyone heard if Mr. Black was able to get Professor Ravenclaw out of his room yet?"

"I don't think the Headmaster is likely to put up with it when Ravenclaw has classes today," Terrence said calmly.

"I hope not, I have Divination right after lunch," Ambrose said, causing Delia to gaze fixedly at him.

"Why are you in Divination this year? We have until fifth year to get that requirement in, and you have more than enough to chew on this year as it is," she said in an almost scolding tone.

"Oh, Mum made the mistake of mentioning to my godfather that I had strange dreams sometimes, and the next thing I know it's on my book list," Ambrose admitted sheepishly.

"Of course you have strange dreams, you're eight and growing inches in months, it's only natural," Delia said knowingly. "But don't worry, those things tend to settle out after you've gotten past puberty."

"How would you know? You certainly haven't gotten there yet," Terrence retorted. Delia suddenly picked up her things and stood with a look of indignation on her face before storming off.

Ambrose snickered.

"That girl really gets under the skin at times. She's been intolerable ever since your disguise went off last year," Terrence said in annoyance.

"Yeah, she was really mad at me for lying to her," Ambrose admitted. "She's been awful to me ever since, but I didn't know you knew about it."

"How could I miss it? I know you probably didn't see it, but she had a massive crush on Bill," Terrence said. Ambrose's jaw dropped. "She's more mad at herself than at you."

"That's…disgusting!" Ambrose exclaimed, making a face to show exactly how disgusting he thought it was.

"Trust me, she's been thinking the same thing," Terrence grinned. "All right, everyone! Breakfast!"

Ambrose hurried down the stairs in front of the others, peering in the Great Hall from the doors for a moment with a frown.

"'Ey, Bill!" Ambrose turned around to see Lucky walking up, still yawning expansively. "Didn't really have to wait for me. We got our first class together."

"Yeah, I know, but I told you I would. Any free periods today?" he asked.

"Small break right after lunch. 'Study period'," she said, making a quotation marks with her fingers.

"I have a class then," Ambrose frowned, pulling out his schedule. "What about after Transfiguration tomorrow? You know, before dinner…"

"I don't even have the same Transfiguration as you do," Lucky admitted.

"What?" Ambrose said, exchanging schedules with a frown. "Man, this is tight!"

"Well, we can always study after dinner until the library closes," Lucky said. "And weekends."

"I'll have Quidditch on weekends," Ambrose said. Lucky frowned and decided not to comment. "Such is my luck, I guess. I was hoping for more than that. Sometimes, well, I don't have many friends, Lucky, and sometimes I feel like the entire class is ready to feed me to the wolves."

"Ya, I know exactly what you mean," Lucky said with a nod. "I have the same problem."

"Maybe, but sometimes I feel like you try hard not to fit," Ambrose said.

"Ya, so, what's wrong with that?" Lucky said in annoyance. "I don't do conventional. And you don't, either."

"I don't?" Ambrose said with interest, following her into the Great Hall.

"If you did, you wouldn't be here, _chico_," Lucky assured him. "Trust me, you're a social deviant jus' like me, and that's a good thing, Bill. Anyhow, I'll see you in class."

"See you," Ambrose said, hurrying over to Hufflepuff table and hoping into the seat, looking around at the other students sitting nearby. "Anybody got a dictionary?"


	7. Class Reaction

Chapter Seven

Class Reaction

Lucky ate quickly, throwing everything on her toast and eating it in several large bites so she could be one of the first students in the class, picking out a table in the center of the room. The smell of coffee wafted in the air, and Lucky looked over to see pair of steaming pots and a tray of pastries on a table near the back. Jennifer was busy copying something from their book onto the blackboard and didn't seem to notice her.

"I thought the Professor said that was against the rules now," Lucky said.

"No, he said it was 'highly discouraged,'" Jennifer said briskly, "Although that's hardly student business. Help yourself, Lucky."

"Ok by me," Lucky shrugged, getting a cup of coffee and sitting back down. When Jennifer moved, Lucky furrowed her brow at the formula. It took up half the blackboard.

Ambrose came in along with a mob of other students, quickly taking a seat beside Lucky.

"Help yourself to the back table if you like, then get settled wherever. Don't forget whomever you're sitting with will end up being your lab partner, so choose wisely," Jennifer said, glancing over the book one more time. "Don't bother getting your kits out, I'm not sure we'll have time to get into them today, double or not, because we're going to be getting into dissecting complex potion formulas."

"No review?" Delia asked curiously.

"If you need a review to keep up, I'm afraid you'll have to do it on your own time. I have a tight schedule this year," Jennifer said apologetically. "I'll be handing out last years outline along with your study sheets before you go, as well as a list of twenty five ingredients, their properties, basic uses, and general quality concerns for each. You'll be expected to memorize those and we'll have a test on them at the beginning of each class from now on." Lucky grimaced at the thought of all that memorization. Why couldn't they learn something more practical? "Everyone get out your notebooks, now, and for your sake, I'd go for pencils and stay away from the ink, this is going to be messy. This," she said, tapping her chalk against the blackboard, "Is alchemist notation. It's what alchemists use to alter existing potions or design new ones. By writing it out this way, we can make an educated guess on whether the potion will blow up the lab or not before we get to the experimentation phase of the project. Only after the formula is perfected is it then written in the classic recipe form you're used to seeing in potion books. These formulas are not written specifically in chronological order, but in order of significance, so we're going to start with learning basic symbols and learning how to find specific steps."

Lucky carefully followed Jennifer's direction, quickly seeing it as something that could be read as a type of mathematical formula, adding the parenthesis, brackets, circles and boxes to the main ingredients and asterisks, number signs, pentacles, and other function symbols to the minor ingredients, time and temperature specifications. They were getting to the end of the one on the board when Lucky finally looked around and noticed the vacant expressions on all the other student's faces. Even Ambrose, who seemed to have copied Jennifer's instruction correctly, seemed to be decidedly lost, and when the bell finally rang, everyone seemed extremely relieved.

"That was without a doubt the lonnnnngest class I've ever been in!" Ambrose declared when they walked out the door. "Did any of that have the slightest bit to do with potions at all?"

"Since when did they start teaching non-laymen potions in second year?" Delia grumbled.

"This isn't anything like what was taught last year," Connie assured her. "I have one of my cousin's second year potion books, and it mostly concentrated on learning how to test potions for impurities and a continuation of topical potions that we started first years. This book is horrific!"

"It did seem pretty advanced," Lucky admitted.

"Well, I'm going to write my father tonight and complain about them," Delia declared.

"Me too," Connie agreed.

"My Mum already complained," Ambrose said. Lucky fell into silence, feeling uncomfortable all the sudden. She was glad when they finally parted their ways for the next class.

When Jennifer arrived at dinner that night, the Great Hall was unusually quiet, and the students visibly glum. She sighed and went over to Hermione, who was already standing by her chair.

"This is awful," Jennifer said. "No, really, it's been years since I've seen student morale this low."

"The staff morale isn't exactly high either," Anna put in.

"What have you got to complain about? They didn't change your books," Jennifer said in annoyance.

"By the time most of the students got to my class, they weren't in the mood to do anything," Anna said.

"Nobody could stay on their brooms in my afternoon class," Danyelle put in from where she was sitting. "Let's face it, it's affecting everyone."

"And after only one day," Jennifer said, folding her arms. "Frankly, Hermione, I really don't know how long we can possibly do this."

"We'll all get used to it," Hermione said in a low voice.

"God, I hope not," Sally Scribe said, walking up to them. "This is horrendous. The board can't possibly expect us to keep up with this."

"That's just what the board is hoping we can't do, Sally, they're hoping we'll give in," Hermione said. "They want us to admit that Ambrose Bailey can't handle it and send him back to primary."

"We can't possibly send him back after learning a year of magic already, it'd be insane," Jennifer said.

"Perhaps they're hoping he'll flunk out so they can just banish him from magic," Danyelle said. "And I for one don't want to see that."

"Me either," Sally said resignedly, cleaning her glasses. "But I can't help sympathizing with what the students must be going through."

"Wait a minute, guys, is it really necessary to put the whole school through this for one student?" Anna asked. "We could always set him back and set him up with some sort of after school tutor or something to keep up with magic until he's of the right age."

"I understand what you're saying, Anna, but ultimately this really is about more than just one student," Hermione said. "This is about the fact that half the board would rather make life difficult for the school instead of actually helping us. They're there as a check and balance to make sure that we're keeping our standards up educationally and keeping up the books and staying even economically. They're not supposed to be there to bully us whenever they feel like it."

"Precisely." They looked up to see Severus standing behind them. Jennifer moved to take her seat on the other side of him. "You all were warned beforehand that this was likely to be rough. However, we will persist."

"Easy for you to say, you don't have to teach," Sally said curtly. Jennifer cringed visibly, although Severus simply gave Sally a fixed stare.

"Any time you would like to switch places, let me know," Severus said curtly. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get this over with. I need to finish helping Mr. Carnegie get the containment and quarantine rooms ready before Mr. Pyther arrives."

As they sat down and got settled, Jennifer stared at her plate in disbelief then sighed contentedly when a dish of chocolate ice cream smothered in fudge and a plate of baklava appeared. Beside her, Pomona had a complex salad topped with bits of truffle, while Hermione had a hearty bowl of chicken soup and a yogurt parfait, and Anna with macaroni and cheese and a slice of pizza.

"Comfort food!" Andrew laughed, looking over the bangers and mash with a sizable side order of pumpkin butter sandwiches. He glanced at the students tables, noting Lindsay with a big plate of chips and Lucky already working on a tamale.

"I definitely needed this," Jennifer said, unsurprised to see her husband ending up with kippers on toast and a large plate of springerle. "Who's idea was this?" she asked innocently, already having guessed the answer.

"It could have been anyone," Severus answered noncommittally.

"Wasn't me, but I'm not complaining," Hermione said, "and neither are the students…probably for the first time today."

"It's always been the little things that matter," Andrew said. "They'll weather this all right."

"I never believed otherwise," Severus said expressionlessly, biting into a biscuit.

"Professor, there is something I need to speak to you about after dinner," Hermione said.

"Oh? Can't you just speak to me now, you know how much I have to do tonight."

"Not really, it's a staff issue," Hermione said quietly. Severus glanced over at her and noticed that Danny, Andrew, and some of the others were exchanging knowing looks behind her. He glanced the other direction to see everyone immediately becoming concerned with their food.

"You may as well tell me, considering from the looks of it everyone else already knows something I don't," Severus said.

"I had to call in a substitute today," Hermione said.

"A substitute? On the first day of classes?" Severus said, staring at her.

"Don't worry, Essie was happy to do it, in fact, she did say she'd come in as often as we need…"

"Essie?" Severus repeated, his expression changed. "Icarus."

"He still refuses to come out…" she began, but Severus had immediately gotten up.

"Well, he's gone too far this time. I happen to know it's in his contract that he's not allowed to let his brooding spells interfere with his work," Severus seethed.

"Professor, he's still a ghost…"

"Being dead is no excuse! I still expect my staff to perform their duties in due course," Severus said, striding out the back door. The rest of the staff stared after him as the door came slamming shut.

"Professor Weasley, might I say for the record that if I die on the job I'd like to retire?" Pomona said. Anna smirked at her.

"I'd better go along. Jennifer, watch things here?" Hermione said, getting up.

"All right, but I want to hear your side of how it turns out once its over," Jennifer said, and Hermione nodded to her before hurrying out after him.

Zacchius Black, tired of arguing and hoarse from talking, had been sitting on the floor of the Divination tower with his back to the office door, lightly dozing when he heard the sound of footsteps outside. His eyes grew wide when he saw the expression on the Snape's face as he stormed in and quickly scrambled to his feet and out of the way.

"Open by order of the Headmaster," Severus snapped, and the door immediately unlocked itself and opened. He strode in, looking around a room in complete disarray…papers everywhere and the ghost nowhere in sight. "Icarus, I demand you come out at once. If you do not come out at once, I will dismiss you from your position and then personally have your remains taken back to Azkaban and make certain all my successors know never to allow you back here again!"

"Oh dry up," the voice of Icarus said from all around him. "I happen to know that I will be here doing this job long after you finally give it up, which is saying a lot since you'll be at this so long that several dozen generations of students will grow up not knowing just how much of an ass you can be."

"You know quite well those sorts of memory predictions of yours don't work with me, Ravenclaw," Severus snapped. "Fine, if you want to play hard ball, I'll take that to be a resignation. Hermione? Issue a stop payment on Ick's personal trust funds," he ordered. Zack turned around, surprised to see Hermione standing there. "Zack, if you'll accompany me to the vaults, I'd rather get this over with as soon as possible…"

"Oh, all right, all right!" Icarus said, reluctantly materializing in front of him. "Really, Severus, the older you get, the more you act like Jennifer."

"I would stop now if I were you," Severus warned him, eyes flashing angrily.

"I respond no better to threats than you do. I'm hardly a petrified vampire you can bully about. I swear, you're as bad as the board," Icarus said testily. "And whether you like it or not, you need me here as much as the school needs you here, regardless of how much you want to throw me out and regardless of how much you want to leave." Hermione blinked at that, looking at Severus curiously. Severus glared at the ghost, fuming. "So let's just drop the threats now, shall we? I was not feeling up to teaching so I took a sick day. Why can't I take a sick day every now and then? I have rights too, you know, ghost or not."

"This was the first day of the term and you were hardly sick!" Severus snapped. "The first day of class sets the tone for the entire year, and the fact that you simply discounted it and let a substitute take over does not encourage me."

"I'm sorry, Severus, but I've had an awfully bad day…"

"I have an entire staff who has just had an 'awfully bad day,'" Severus snapped. "I expect you to remember that summer is over and there's no more room for this sulking nonsense regardless of what danger you believe we're in, and you will return to your classes in the morning. Furthermore, from now on if you plan on using a 'sick day' you need to clear it with me and give Hermione more sufficient notice!"

"Does the living give sufficient notice when they're sick?" Icarus asked, but with a lot less fire than before. "Very well, Headmaster. I hope I didn't inconvenience you too much for losing a day in a course most students simply take to get a free high mark in."

"Most are not all," Severus said with a frown. "And I had better not have a reason to come back up here by the end of the year, Ravenclaw."

"Hm," Ick said thoughtfully, but didn't say anything else until Severus and Hermione had left. "Have some tea, Mr. Black?"

"So now you're cordial," Zack said irritably, randomly picking up papers from the path that blocked his way to Ick's desk. "Maybe you wouldn't have even been in this position if you had agreed to speak with me in the first place."

"It wasn't you I wanted to talk to," Icarus explained calmly, ignoring Zack's irritated look. "Boy, if you really want to get better at this job you're going to have to learn that you can't out-wait a ghost, they have a lot longer than you do. But I suppose you're wondering what's been bothering me, that's what you do, is it?"

"I came here to listen, Icarus," Zacchius said, watching as the teapot poured out and took a cup.

"Well that in itself is a refreshing change around here, isn't it?" Ick said bitterly.

Jennifer clutched the canvas covered frame in her hands; for after she had climbed to the ninth floor and into the room set up to the contain the wandering most portraits, she suddenly didn't feel like giving it up. Francis was busy working on mounts, brackets and easels when she came in, but looked up sympathetically when he saw her reluctance.

"Here they are, Mr. Pyther," Severus said, coming up behind her with another frame. "I've also brought John to help you set up." The Irishman fell in behind them with a painting of his own, smiling warily at Francis.

"Thank you," Francis said gratefully, taking the portrait from Severus first, hanging it high on the wall before gently uncovering it. The portrait of Jennifer gazed back at them with a deep frown, glancing at their faces.

"It's almost as if she's trying to read us," Severus mused.

"Attempting to figure out what's going on, I'd imagine. We'd best get the other one up on the wall before she gets into trouble," Pyther chuckled softly.

"What if one of the other paintings brought in is already infected?" Jennifer asked, knuckles white against the curves of the frame.

"I'll put them side by side so they don't have to travel far," Francis promised.

"They tend to wander when they get bored…"

"Precisely why we're taking this precaution, Jennifer," Severus reminded her. Reluctantly, Jennifer gave up the portrait to Francis' gentle hands, watching anxiously as he slipped it into place on the wall and uncovered it. The Severus portrait, it seemed, had been waiting impatiently for the cover to be lifted so that he would have light to read his book, but it wasn't long at all before the Jennifer portrait wandered over and he was forced to put his book down to comfort her.

"There, now, all is well," Francis smiled, taking the painting from John and setting it on the easel.

"Don't you dare uncover that one," Severus said quickly.

"Certainly not. I don't want to hear from him right now any more than you do," Francis assured him, tucking the canvas around the Merlin portrait snugly. He turned back around to see that Jennifer's worried expression hadn't changed, still gazing up on the wall. "Come, now, Jennifer, they'll be alright. It's a portrait, what does it matter when you have the real thing? I can always make another."

"Not like that one," Jennifer said quietly.

"What she means to say is that I'm not the same man I was then," Severus said bluntly. "I was still teaching and had a lot of things left to look forward to and fight for in my life at that point. For Jennifer's sake, I hope he has enough sense to stay put," he added, frowning at his portrait.

"If any painting in this entire school has the sense and logic to do so it's yours, Professor," Francis reassured him. Severus thought about it for a moment.

"True enough," he decided at last. "Come along, Jennifer, there's a handful more I need to personally escort in here before we turn in."

"Professor?" John suddenly walked over to him, taking some nail brads out of his mouth before leaning over to him. "You aren't really going to leave me alone in here with that? You know he's…"

"An artist? Frightening, isn't he?" Severus murmured back. "Surely someone who's climbed the Eiffel Tower from the outside and had as many narrow escapes as you can handle one pacifist vampire. If he does bother you, just throw up your hands and say, 'boo,'" he advised. John stared at him. "Well, it's always worked for me," Severus shrugged, excusing himself from them and leading Jennifer out.


	8. Fallout

_A/N It's a short chapter, but it read better to me as a stand-alone section. Enjoy! JCWriter._

Chapter Eight

Fallout

Jacob and Alicia stood and stared at Alicia's new painting for a long time without saying anything.

"Well, it is better than the first one, at least," Jacob said matter-of-factly.

"It's forced, strained, and the colors are all wrong," Alicia said with a sigh.

"True," Jacob admitted. "But it does appear to be moving…"

"But it's more like waves rather than how it actually moves," Alicia pointed out, gnawing on her paintbrush.

"Are we going out tonight again?"

"Rather!" Alicia agreed, and Jacob went to get his work done while Alicia put the painting down and started putting together a new stretch frame. Just then, Zoë Apparated in, not that either of them blinked. She'd been randomly 'checking in' so often lately that they had both gotten used to it.

"Don't tell me you're working again! Alicia, I know Jacob has to do his charts, but you don't have to keep at it like this," Zoë said in apparent annoyance as she got a quick drink.

"There's still a storm going on, and I'm going to get as much practice as I can in before we hit the next quiet phase," Alicia explained.

"It's just a light show!" Zoë said exasperated. "And you're not helping any by encouraging her," she added, chiding Jacob, who raised a brow.

"At least I am encouraging her," Jacob said, twisting some knobs. "I don't suppose you're staying here long enough to write some data down so I can go help her again tonight?"

"Not that I see you really helping her when you go out there, you just take photos," Zoë said.

"Precisely," Jacob said calmly.

"Well, I'm tired of seeing the two of you do nothing but work, let's go out to eat," Zoë said, throwing a coat over Alicia's head.

"We don't have time for that!" Alicia protested.

"Really, Zoë, if you want to go out to eat with your friends, suit yourself, but I really need to get this done," Jacob protested. Zoë suddenly stopped short.

"You're trying to get rid of me!" she said accusingly.

"It'd definitely make things easier," Jacob admitted candidly, tapping his wand to his quill to make it start cross-referencing his numbers.

"There's something going on between the two of you, isn't there?" she said. Alicia looked up from what she was doing to gaze at her cousin in disbelief.

"No, but if you are suddenly having trust issues, Zoë, it might be relating to guilt over who you've been shagging up with lately," Jacob said in the same calm tone, not even giving her a second glance. Alicia's jaw dropped, while Zoë suddenly turned white. "Sorry, Cuz, but she's been trying to fix us up for weeks now."

"I know," Alicia said quietly.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of!" Zoë said. "You are my husband…"

"For the moment," Jacob said briskly, looking over the quill's work.

"And Alicia's been like a sister to me…"

"Although that hasn't been reciprocated much lately," Alicia put in. "Besides, you seem to forget that I happen to be in love with someone else."

"Oh, please, Alicia!" Zoë said, rolling her eyes. "You had a childhood crush on an art instructor that's as old as Methuselah and scared of his own shadow! If you're stupid enough to pine over that after all these years you've only yourself to blame. Just because you happened to have some sort of perverted 'fang' fetish when you were a teen does not mean you're in love or were ever in love!"

Suddenly Alicia's wand was in immediately in her hand, turning Zoë into a leech. But Zoë's natural shape shifting immediately kicked in and she became humanoid again, grabbing her own wand and casting flippendo to send Alicia soaring to the floor.

"Stop stop stop! Before someone gets hurt!" Jacob said, casting disarm at both of them. As their wands dropped to the floor, Zoë was on Alicia, pinning her down to try to keep her from reciprocating. But just as the fight began to get ugly, Alicia was gone and Zoë hit the floor, cursing loudly as she sat up and realized that they had landed on her open sketchbook. The tip of a wand appeared in front of her nose, and Zoë looked up to see Jacob's incredibly grim expression.

"I want you packed and out of here, Zoë. Now," Jacob said firmly.

"You forget, Jacob, I paid for this place…"

"And my grant runs it," Jacob snapped. "Are you going to explain to the wizard council why their work isn't getting done?" Scowling, Zoë grabbed her wand and sleeved it, and neither of them spoke to each other again until they saw each other in court.

Severus had his nose buried in paperwork when he heard someone clear his throat. Intentionally ignoring it, he finished the page he was on only to hear it again.

"What is it, Dippet?" Severus asked with annoyance, looking at one of the paintings on the wall.

"I believe your daughter is coming to see you sir," he said expressionlessly.

"At this hour?" Severus frowned, glancing at the time.

"No sir, your other daughter," Dippet said.

"Very well, I'm sure Alex will find her way up in due time," Severus said, waving him off as he tried to read the fine print of whatever it was Hermione was trying to trick him into signing this time.

"Care to try again, for third time's the charm?" Dippet asked amusedly. Severus looked up at the painting for a moment, glanced at his appointment book, and then pulled the top drawer open, looking at the map inside.

"Where's Pyther?"

"Containment room, I believe, ninth floor…"

"I remember what floor I set it up on, thank you," Severus snapped, pulling a knob to engage the stairs. "Get a message to Janus Craw to go in there and keep an eye on him."

"Consider it done," Dippet said with a yawn. Severus turned over the teapot and a pair of cups, going back to his paperwork. By the time she had gotten to the door to knock, Dippet had already fallen asleep again.

Severus waved the doors open, raising an eyebrow as if mildly surprised to see his daughter there, although he was genuinely surprised to see she had several marks on her face.

"Hello, Alicia, I thought you were in Canada or something. Isn't that hot?" he added, noting her heavy clothing.

"I didn't have time to change," Alicia explained, but wasted no time shrugging off a couple of the top layers. "Are you busy?"

"No, I mostly tend to sit here all day thinking up nasty new rules to keep students in line," Severus said, attempting to stack up part of the papers away so he could see over the desk at where she had sat. "Have some tea. Have you eaten?" Alicia shrugged noncommittally. Frowning, Severus turned over another tray and a stack of sandwiches appeared. "Just as well, I probably needed something myself. Ever since I took this job, it seems as if my diet consists of coffee, tea, and an occasional handful of candy. If it weren't for school functions and your mother's insistences, I'd probably forget to eat at all. But I'm guessing you didn't come here to talk about me. If you did, you'd probably have started yelling by now," he mused, grabbing a sandwich.

"No, it's about Zoë," Alicia admitted, taking only a bite of hers before setting it down, obviously upset. Severus blinked, apparently a little taken aback by the choice of topic. "Do you realize just how out of hand she's gotten lately?"

"Not that it's any of my business to begin with, but no one else has mentioned anything to me lately short of keeping me up to date who she's married to at the moment," Severus admitted.

"That's just the trouble! She treats marriage like a convenience and none of the marriages she's had is worth the paper they're written on! She's so damn self-centered she doesn't even realize she's hurting anybody in the process!" Alicia said, pacing.

"Yes, well, I can hardly argue with that, but she is an adult now and deserves to make her own mistakes. Perhaps you should just stay out of it," Severus suggested.

"It's too late for that! Zoë tried to fix me up with her current husband to get him out of her hair!" Alicia said.

Severus stared at her. Seeing his expression, Alicia nodded curtly, pacing again.

"How exactly did this come about?" he asked.

"Oh, the research center is fairly small and we all share relative space…Jacob keeps long hours to get his research done and I guess Zoë got bored with her surroundings pretty quick…to be fair, it can get pretty bleak there if you're not keeping busy, but I had my painting. It didn't help that Jacob and I hit it off right away…we were both there to study the environment in our own ways, and a lot of his observations about climate and my observations about wildlife patterns…well, it actually worked out a lot better than I might have expected considering we were going about it in opposite ways. So when Zoë started to get bored with the marriage thing, she started taking off to Polaris Town leaving us together hoping for more than a working relationship." Severus sighed and leaned back in his chair, lacing his hands together thoughtfully.

"I suppose she wasn't in town just by herself either," he mused.

"Oh, no, I'm quite sure she wasn't. She went to see Xavier the first couple of times she went off by herself and then we started hearing about 'Xavier's friends,' and she began staying out later, not that that part is really any of my business, but what she was doing to Jacob burns me up! And if it wasn't bad enough I was staying with them and already felt in the way while this was breaking down, she had to pull something like that!" Alicia snarled. "I should have squished her when I turned her into a leech."

"I'm sure you wouldn't have actually done it, although it sounds to me like she probably deserved it. Where was Jacob when this came to a head?"

"Right in the middle of it, trying to break up the fight. In fact, I left my wand," Alicia said.

"Well, you still have a key to the research center, do you not?" Severus asked, leaning forward again to find his cup.

"Not that I'm planning to go back there, but yes," Alicia said.

"Have you completed whatever it was you went out there to do, then?" Severus asked seriously.

"Well, no, not really," Alicia answered cautiously, "but I had made some progress…"

"All the more reason for you to go back," Severus advised, pulling a paper off the top of his stack and ignoring the stare Alicia was giving to him.

"You can't be serious! After what just happened?" Alicia gawked.

"Alicia, I can't profess to know this friend of yours, but if you were in Jacob's position when all of this came out, what would you have done?"

"I would have thrown her out," Alicia admitted.

"Do you think he is capable of doing such a thing?" Severus asked calmly, frowning at the paper a moment before tossing it in his reject pile.

"Only when he's hard pressed," Alicia said, sitting down. "He's a very tolerant man, he'd have to have his back to the wall." Severus put down his work and looked at her with exasperation.

"Alicia, if what you just told me got even remotely as heated as I imagine it was, I think we can assume his back was to the wall. Do you believe he would leave his research hanging to try and repair this?"

"No, not really," Alicia admitted with a sigh. Severus nodded.

"Then I suggest you simply let him handle his personal affairs and trust him professionally to make his own decisions. I see no reason for you to allow Zoë to get between you and your work, and if my guess is correct, she's already out of the picture."

"I can't believe you're actually encouraging me to go back, especially since I'm sure if I did Zoë would try to turn it against him…"

"Then find a room in town as you like, if it troubles you, although personally it doesn't trouble me either way…"

"Only because you know me," Alicia pointed out.

"True enough," Severus said with a nod. "And I know it's not like you to drop your work when someone tries to get in the way of it. I think you belong there, right now, Alicia," he added in such a firm tone that she wondered why. "I think it's high time you took some control over your life instead of letting it control you, and I don't think you can do that here."

"Well, what about Zoë?"

"I'll make sure those who need to know about that situation get told. You can safely distance yourself from that part of this," Severus assured her as she leaned on a chair.

"I suppose Jacob could use a friend right now too…" she murmured.

"Alicia, please, do this for yourself and no one else, at least for now…"

"Doing this for myself includes making sure my friends aren't hurt for my actions," Alicia retorted. Severus pondered that a moment then nodded.

"Very well, but I'll handle Zoë," Severus said, pulling out a note card. "Now, if you don't mind, there's a bit of a crisis in the castle at the moment, so I'll let you leave by key from here."

"All right," Alicia nodded with a sigh, putting the teacup back on the desk. "When isn't there a crisis in this castle?"

"When indeed?" Severus grunted with annoyance. "I'll inform anyone who inquires that you're doing well. Feel free to send me a post when you feel your situation has diffused somewhat."

"I will, thank you, Father," Alicia said, pulling on her coats, and Severus waved a dismissal in response. As she faded away, Severus hurriedly finished his note and sealed it.

"Send this to the Ministry tubes for Lunette Vallid," he told Dodger, handing the owl the note. "And Dippet, have one of the ghosts send up Pyther and Zack Black."


	9. The Deviants

Chapter Nine

The Deviants

The second day of class wasn't anywhere near as shocking to the students now that they had their first taste of the new books, despite the fact that after two days Ambrose had accumulated more homework than he could have possibly imagined having. In fact, he was almost glad that Lucky had an extra class since he would have assuredly gotten distracted away from his studying…even without her being there, it was hard. Ambrose definitely wanted to know what was wrong with the paintings, and why Professor Ravenclaw missed his first class. He had also heard some of the older students talk about a vampire in the school at night, although he had made up his mind not to believe it until he saw it. Reluctantly, he found an open table and sat down several backbreaking tomes, reaching for _Hogwarts, A History_ first to get his reading assignment over with so he could ditch the weight of the book for the day.

He found himself frowning in confusion over some of the earlier history, for some of the stories he had been told as a youth were than what was written in the book. So which was right? He dug in his book bag and took out some highlight chalk, marking all the passages that didn't seem to jibe. He was so absorbed in his work that he hadn't noticed when someone approached his table, peering over his shoulder to see what he was working on.

"Mind if I sit here?" Helena asked quietly, as if already expecting a negative answer.

"Sure, Lena," Ambrose said, sliding his bookmark over the line he was on so not to lose his place. "I've been wanting to see you, anyhow! So what do you think about Hogwarts? What're your classes like this year? Can I see your books? What are you working on?"

"Um…I don't know yet, horrendous, yes you may, and Charms. We have to read all of the first chapter, plus memorize a long list of charms she plans to teach us later this week, plus finish some refresher workbook pages on Latin."

"Wow! All we did the first week of charms was learn how to hold our wand. Rather silly, really," Ambrose admitted, peering at her spell list. He frowned. "I don't know half of these!"

"Yeah, it's a real bear," Helena said uncomfortably, glancing over at another table before trying to pay attention again. "What are you working on?"

"Oh, history…sort of," Ambrose said. "This thing is really out of date. I'm surprised Professor Scribe even allowed it. She tends to be one of those teachers that wants 'nothing but untainted, un-opinionated facts.'"

"Really?" Helena said with a frown. "That's odd, she told us yesterday that all history was tainted by opinion."

"That's just the point, though. Last year, she threw out dates and particulars about each event we studied and then we had to write essays with our own opinions on each situation. Got old before the end of the term, really," Ambrose admitted with a grin.

"She never said anything to us about doing essays. It sounded to me like that class was all memorization too," Helena said.

"Yeah, she told us we're assigned to read chapters for homework and have a test every day. I liked the way it was last year better," Ambrose admitted. "I bet your sister did too, huh?"

"I'm not sure. I still haven't spoken to her yet," Helena admitted, taking back her book.

"Opposite schedules?" Ambrose asked. Helena shook her head. Ambrose looked around to make sure Librarian Boulderdash wasn't in the area, pushing his book away. "Have you heard from home yet?" She shook her head again. "Well, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about, Lena."

"Yeah, that's what Aunt Hermione said too. But last year when we heard Connie got Sorted, Dad and Mum sent her a note that same night," Helena said quietly. "Aunt Hermione…Professor Weasley, I mean…thinks it should blow over before Christmas."

"Well if she says so, I'd believe it," Ambrose said encouragingly.

"That doesn't help me now, though. Most of my housemates pretend I'm not there."

"Boy, I know how that is," Ambrose said, propping his head up in his hand. "Except for Terrence and Lindsay, most of the Hufflepuffs are still mad at me for even being here at school. Lucky Snape is having the same problem with Gryffindor too. What is it with the houses these days? I mean, if anybody is going to support you, you'd think your house would."

"Yes, you'd think so," Helena agreed bitterly. "If not them, then family, but I don't feel like I have either at the moment."

"Well, you can always talk to me," Ambrose said emphatically. "Although…I really wonder if you'd let me ask something."

"You mean what everyone else has been asking. Why I'm in Slytherin," Helena said flatly.

"If it bothers you, I won't ask," Ambrose shrugged.

"Actually, you're the only one I know who hasn't asked me that straight off. Most of them I told them to put a sock in it," Helena said, anger still evident on her face.

"Well, I don't care what anyone says. I don't see anything wrong with Slytherin house. Madame Brittle was one of my favorite teachers last year…"

"Sure that wasn't just because she was giving broom lessons?" Helena inquired knowingly.

"And what about Rel? Next to Harry he's one of the best Aurors out there, and a Unicorn Rider," Ambrose said. Helena made a face at that. "Not to mention my godfather, of course. So what if the house doesn't have the best reputation? I've heard a lot of people bad mouthing my house too…we're all a bunch of wash-ups, you know. Come to think of it, I've heard stuff about Gryffindors too, the hideous troublemakers. And those Ravenclaws! Can't get their noses out of a book long enough to do anything except trip over their own feet…"

"Okay, okay," Helena chuckled. "I admit I've heard them all too. But at least none of them were tied to Deatheaters…"

"That was _ages_ ago, Lena. Times have changed, and I don't see anything wrong with being proud or ambitious, or whatever else the Hat saw in you that fit in there. There's nothing to be ashamed of," Ambrose said.

"I think it was more about something I was thinking at the time rather than any quality I might have," Helena murmured, lowering her voice. "See, when I was walking up I saw my sister and my cousins all sitting at that table in a mob…well, honestly, my whole life I've been surrounded by 'the mob.' At parties and things we were never introduced, we were just 'some of the Weasleys' or 'Percy's kids' or 'Arthur's grandkids' or something like that, as if no one could figure out which of us was which or who belonged to who. I just didn't want to be 'just another Weasley' anymore. Any house besides Gryffindor would have done. I suppose you wouldn't understand."

"Sure I do," Ambrose said. "You're a social deviant!"

"What did you call me?" Helena said, gaping at him.

"You're a social deviant," Ambrose said calmly.

"Ambrose Bailey! What a horrible thing to say!" she said, forgetting herself until several students from a nearby table shushed her.

"No, it isn't," Ambrose said, pulling his book back over. "There's nothing wrong with being unconventional, or um…or fighting the system. Yeah, that's it. So what if I'm an eight year old second year, and your not 'just another Weasley', and Lucky's…well, whatever she is, she's a deviant too. It's our lives, not anybody else's, and nothing to be ashamed of! I think you did the right thing asking for another house, Lena." She hissed at him.

"Please don't tell anyone else about that, especially not relatives," she pleaded. Ambrose crossed his heart, zipped his lips, threw away the key, and then traced a ward against evil in the air. Helena rolled her eyes. "Just when I start to forget you're eight, you do something like that."

Ambrose grinned at her and was about to reply when he heard a very gruff throat clearing. The two of them quickly buried their noses in their books as Boulderdash walked by, both completely unaware that the old goblin had been just on the other side of the nearest bookshelf the entire time.

After receiving so much memorization homework and repetitious writing that it made Lucky wonder if she weren't better off back on the streets, she was extremely glad to arrive at Professor Tangent's class. Geometrical shapes dangled on hooks from the ceiling, complex figures were drawn on the all the walls but the back one, which had been painted a solid black. Several problems were already floating in air just in front of the wall itself with some key elements missing…written in colored light from Tangent's wand, reminding Lucky of the neon lights of her old hometown.

Tangent tended to seat students on reverse alphabetical order, which conveniently enough put his best student, Lucky, near the head of the class. A smattering of all houses from all the higher years were there, from fourth to seventh, and, Lucky realized, one third year student.

"Hiya Lucky!" Dale Chance said with a grin when she frowned at him.

"What are you doing here? You didn't take Arithmantics last year," Lucky said accusingly.

"Took a test to pass out of it," he said with a wink. "You're not the only one good with numbers around here."

"Maybe, but I'm the best," Lucky said bluntly, going to take her seat. Some of the other students gave her a look as if they weren't at all impressed with that statement, but Dale's grin never left his face.

The office door opened and the rotund professor walked out, an enigmatic smile on his face as he looked over his class.

"Welcome, welcome! It is good to see that so many of you have decided to continue your study of Arithmantics another year! In fact, I do believe this is the largest second level class I've had since I started," he admitted. "And I sincerely hope the curriculum this year doesn't scare you away from any further pursuits in the subject." Several of the students looked at each other unsurely. "Yes, I'm sure the material will prove sufficient challenge for everyone in this class…including even you, Miss Snape," he added pointedly. Lucky smiled smugly back. "Starting, as you can see from the examples, with charm and countercharm algebra. Go ahead and begin copying these if you haven't started yet. We'll be going through them line by line. Feel free to use dictation quills in my class, in fact, I would prefer that you did, for I am hoping to get into arithmantic theories on imaginary numbers and paradox applications before Christmas." Tangent took out his wand and turned to the first problem as a rumble broke out in the class and he had to pause and stare at them from behind his glasses. "I see no hands raised. Is there a question?"

Everyone quieted down then and Lucky got out her dictation quill, tapping it three times on a blank piece of paper to activate it and looked back at Tangent's work with open interest. At least there wasn't any heavy memorization, she thought, cracking her knuckles before picking up her pencil to follow his work on the first problem. Hands-on was definitely more Lucky's style.

As they came out of the class and headed towards dinner, Lucky heard her voice and glanced behind her shoulder to see Dale catching up with her.

"Hey Lucky, want to get together and work on this homework after dinner?" Dale asked.

"I got half of it done in class already," Lucky shrugged.

"Well, I was kinda hoping you'd help me with mine," Dale said.

"If you can pass out of first year, you don't need my help, _chico_," Lucky said. "Besides, I'm already meeting a friend."

"You're sore at me, aren't you? About that whole football business over the summer?"

"Could be," Lucky admitted, walking away. "Later."

Lucky wasted little time in eating, ignoring the looks of disgust coming from the others as she mixed everything together to get it down. It would be easier if they could just have tamales every night, she thought with a grin, jumping back up again and grabbing her bag from under the table, hurrying to the library. Ambrose flagged her down and she made her way over to where he and Helena was sitting, staring at Ambrose's chalk blue fingers.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

"Doing history," he explained. Lucky frowned.

"Wasn't that just reading?"

"Yeah," Ambrose said. "But I was making improvements to the book."

"Don't ask," Helena advised.

"It's only the second day of school, _chico_, and you are already makin' waves," she tsked.

"Funny, Ambrose just got telling me you approved of making waves," Helena challenged her.

"Sure I do, just don't forget waves always get bigger the closer they get to shore," Lucky said with a grin, sitting down and getting out her Charms homework. It didn't feel like any time at all before Boulderdash was going around tables and suggesting they wrap up. Lucky stared at her homework with a frown, reluctantly putting it away. "Ya know, I hate to say it, but I'm not sure I'll be able to get this all done before bed check."

"I've only got one subject finished," Ambrose admitted. "Though it's my fault, I shouldn't have spent so much time on history."

"So what's the penalty for not having one's homework done?" Helena asked, having come to the same conclusion herself.

"Depends on the professor," Ambrose said.

"If you're not the only one in class, expect a test," Lucky advised, then paused. "You know what, I think I'm gonna work on all the reading first tonight. Just in case they do try and quiz us."

"I think that's a good idea," Ambrose agreed, picking up his books and getting up. "Then at the very least we won't look like total fools when they start calling on people who didn't get their homework done to answer basic questions."

"Right, true," Lucky agreed, "Bad enough that nuthin' is gonna save me from what Craw and Snape are gonna say when they find out I didn't get it done."

But whatever punishments or restricted privileges Lucky was imagining as they headed to their rooms, Helena quickly found she had her own set of problems. After leaving Ambrose near the corridor to Hufflepuff, she hurried in to the common room of Conspiracy to see that her housemates were standing in a pair of lines with papers in their hands while the two prefects stood in front of them, sorting through the papers before handing them off to some of the sixths and seventh year students. Don Coventry glanced up when she came in and went over to her.

"I suppose you don't have your homework done either?" the Tie-breaker asked.

"Not all of it," Helena admitted.

"Well, gather up any you don't have with you and get in line. The higher years are going to do it tonight, and then you can pick it up in the morning," Don explained.

"What?" Helena said, frowning. "Don't you think the Professors will know if we didn't finish it ourselves?"

"Not unless someone tells them," Don said, gazing at her fixedly. "Of course, that would bring the wrath of the entire house down on them. Nobody is that stupid. Not even a Weasley."

"I wouldn't tell on my housemates," Helena said icily. "But I think I'm going to finish my own homework."

"Suit yourself, but it had better be done, or your going to be the one who looks like a fool, and I won't be happy if you lose first year any points," Don said firmly.

Helena simply sighed in response, taking her books up to her room and settling at the table, not saying a word to her roommates when they came in shaking their heads at her, putting on their earmuffs and slipping into their beds. Helena ignored them, taking Lucky's advice and reading through everything first. She then turned her attention to her written work.

It was the blaring of a trumpet that awoke her with a start the next morning and she realized she had fallen asleep on her work. Panicking from a giant inkblot on her Charms paper, she quickly began to recopy it as the other two girls woke up, staring at her.

"Are you still not done?" Jill asked with a frown as she took her muffs off and put them under her pillow.

"You should have listened to the prefects and turned them in last night," Prudence agreed, getting dressed.

"I'll be fine, I'll just skip breakfast," Helena snapped.

"Fancy that, a Weasley skipping a meal," Prudence said. "Just don't be late for class. I for one don't want to hear it from Don if we fall behind this early in the game."

"I won't be late," Helena said with irritation, doing her best to recopy. But when she finally caught back up and glanced over what she had left, she knew she was in trouble. Even cutting corners on essay questions, she wasn't going to be able to get her Charms lesson done in time. There was not going to be any helping it, so she finally decided to give up, getting dressed and heading to class early.

She was a bit relieved to find out she wasn't the only one who had skipped breakfast. In fact, nearly every Gryffindor sitting across from her seemed to be doing the same thing she was, frantically trying to finish the last few problems. Taking heart that she wasn't the only one, Helena got a second wind and started back in again, trying to ignore the sound of relaxed chatter when her housemates arrived from breakfast and took their seats.

Suddenly, Helena's quill jerked out of her hand and went flying out of reach over her head, hovering right over her desk. She winced then, looking towards the office door to see Professor Weasley standing there with her hands on her hips. Still, hers was not the only one. Every Gryffindor in the class also had their quills above their heads.

"I see we have a number of unprepared students this morning," Hermione said briskly, coming over to stand at the front of the class. She looked over the students with a frown, then glanced at the Slytherin side almost questioningly. Except for Helena, they all had their hands folded over their books, waiting for that day's lesson. She turned her attention back to the Gryffindor side, randomly picking a table and finding Gary March's paper in her hand.

"Well, I see you at least got your name on the paper," Hermione said with a disapproving frown as she handed it back to him, glancing at one of the girls' desks. "Miss Avani, there is no way at all you can expect me to read that scribbling. I take it most of those last few questions were done when you got here. From now on, class, once you arrive and get into your seats, I would prefer you sit quietly and have your books out, regardless of the state of your homework. And no more skipping breakfast, either," she added. "That hurts all your classes, not just your first." Helena frowned thoughtfully. Was it just her imagination, or did it sound like Hermione hadn't expected them to finish it? But she didn't have long to think about it, for Hermione had suddenly turned to look at her, and before Helena could react had her grabbed her paper. "Hm. Well, it's definitely not done, and then last question you did is a mess. Did everyone else get theirs done?" she asked, looking at the rest of the Slytherin.

"Yes, Professor Weasley," they answered dutifully. She stepped over to the next table and looked a couple over.

"Quite impressive," Weasley said expressionlessly and then turned to look at Helena. "And just how is it that you are the only Slytherin who didn't get her work done, Miss Weasley?"

Helena took her time in answering. She had been tempted…oh, so tempted to tell the truth, but there was little doubt that would do nothing but make life with her housemates even more miserable than it already was. It was her choice to be there, she reminded herself. She had to take some responsibility for her own decisions.

"It's my fault, Professor. When the rest went to the dorms after dinner to study, I decided to go to the library to study with friends instead," Helena said at last.

"And did more gossiping than work, I imagine," Hermione frowned at her, giving her a knowing nod. "Put your books under your tables! We're going to have a quiz over the material! I was going to start showing you some basic spells today, but I can't very well do it if you aren't prepared!" A round of sighs and even some soft groans could be heard, but they immediately stopped when Hermione glanced over at them. A quick flick of her wand and a stack of papers on Hermione's desk distributed themselves to each student, and a moment later Helena saw her quill floating slowly down and she grabbed it. "Once you're through with the quiz, bring it up to my desk and then start writing out your spell list five times and read the next chapter while I mark them. Turn your papers over and begin."

Helena put her name on it and scanned her test, a bit relieved that most of it seemed focused on the reading assignment and the first half of the homework. Well, at least it wouldn't be a complete washout, she thought, even though there were some questions focusing on details that were fuzzy in her head. Even after looking them over twice, she wasn't sure she got it right. She waited until a couple of the other students turned theirs in before turning hers in but then got straight to work, grateful for any extra study time she could get at that point. Finally, she saw movement up front and looked up to see Professor Weasley getting up from her desk. She glanced up at the clock and Helena's eyes followed, realizing they only had five minutes left. Well, at least she had half of her copying done, she thought with a sigh.

"Very well, I have your papers marked," Hermione said with a frown. "And I must say, I have never seen such disappointing scores on any test I have given. Ever," she said. "I don't know what you were expecting when you came to Hogwarts this year, I'm sure you've come from good schools, but we do have higher standards here. Some were, of course, much worse than others," she said briskly, distributing the papers to them herself. "Miss Weasley, I'd like to see you after class if you don't mind," she added, passing Helena's desk with her quiz still in hand as she made her way back to the front. Helena heard a pair of snickers and felt warmth in her checks, knowing quite well it was from the Coventry twins directly behind her. "I suggest all of you go over these test yourself and mark what you did wrong so you can have it to study by, because we won't really have time to touch on it again and it will be on your next test as well. All right, you're free to go. All but you," she added, and Helena kept her seat as the rest of the class filed out. "Come up here for a moment, Miss Weasley," Hermione said and went over to her desk, sitting down. Reluctantly, Helena got up and went over to stand in front of it while Hermione watched the last of the students walk out and the door slowly closed behind them. A thin smile crept on her aunt's face then, and Helena blinked unsurely.

"I hope you don't mind, but I thought under the circumstances you might have wanted me to keep what I'm about to tell you private," Hermione said, still holding the girl's paper in her hand. "Lena, you were the _only_ one in the entire class that got a passing mark on that test." Helena's jaw dropped for a moment, and then broke into a look of complete relief. "It wasn't anywhere close to perfect, and I do think if you had had a chance to look over what you had done of your homework before turning it in you would have avoided a couple of silly answers. Still, this test was a nightmare, how did you manage it?" Helena was so surprised at the Professor's admission that it _was_ a nightmare that she was taken aback a moment.

"Last night when we were studying L…well, a friend I was with told us she didn't think she was going to be able to finish all the homework she had and was going to concentrate on the reading. It sounded like a good idea," Helena admitted.

"Hm," Hermione said thoughtfully, looking over the test. "I do put more emphasis on the reading, I always have really. Perhaps I should tighten that up a bit," she mused. Helena's heart sank, wondering if she had made a mistake in telling her. "No," Hermione said at last. "No, I don't think I will. Not_everyone_ has to fail," she said, sounding slightly amused by something before turning back to look at Helena. "Whoever you're studying with, I'd encourage you to stick with it."

"Maybe I will," Helena said, accepting her paper with a grin.

"Don't forget to look over those mistakes and correct them," she added, waving the door open.

"Yes, Professor," Helena said, stuffing it deep into her book before leaving the room. Just outside the door, Don and Mike Coventry were standing there chatting, falling silent when she walked out.

"Well? Let's hear it, how many points did you lose?" Don asked.

"I didn't lose any," Helena said curtly. "All she did was ask me to explain why my test was the way it was and told me to correct my mistakes. She didn't mention anything about points."

"Well, that was lucky for you," Don said, relaxing a bit when he realized he wasn't going to have to report a point loss.

"Well, a little bit of it was," Helena said with an enigmatic smile.


	10. The Lab Breach

Chapter Ten

The Lab Breach

It was a week later when the potion lab blew up.

Just up the stairs, Tonks had paused her discussion on Grims because she thought she had felt the floor start to tremble. It had been immediately stopped, making her wonder what it was. A moment later, Jennifer was panting at the doorway, her face covered with cuts.

"I need your help. I have a situation," Jennifer said quickly. "Evacuate this room before you come down."

"Oh boy," Tonks said, trying to calm her third year Gryffindor-Slytherin class down.

"Isn't third year Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw in there?" someone asked.

"What could have happened that we need to evacuate?" several others were saying.

"Quiet, please! Grab all your things and head immediately to the Great Hall and read the chapter we're on until I get back. Straight away, line up, no pushing now," Tonks said, funneling them out the corridor opposite the back stairs as Jennifer dove down them.

Jennifer blasted open her outside office door and pulled some blankets out of the closet, stopping to tap a painting of Minerva. Minerva blinked once then looked at Jennifer, quite alert.

"Security procedure for a lab breach level five, code FF," Jennifer said, chucking the blankets into the hallway.

"Goodness! Right away, Jennifer!" Minerva said, moving out of the frame.

"What do you need, Jennifer?" Tonks asked, catching some of the blankets thrown out the door.

"Help me move the students out! Lie them down as soon as you get them out of the door, the Freeze Frame doesn't work outside the room and I don't know if there are any bad injuries," Jennifer said, running back into the smoke-filled room and grabbing the first student closest to the door, lying them on a blanket and pulling his petrified form into the corridor. She heard Hermione's voice ring out through the school even as the student thawed, finishing out his movement to duck before looking around, disoriented.

"Stay down, Chris, just lie back and relax," Jennifer said insistently, turning to the one Tonks had brought out. "That goes for you too, Lindsay, stay put."

"What's going on?" Lindsay asked confusedly, but Jennifer had gone back in again.

"There's a lot of shrapnel in the air hidden in the smoke, Jennifer," Tonks said when she came in. "I just found out the hard way."

"Stay outside with the students and make sure they stay still," Jennifer said, dragging another one. She felt a hand on her when she got to the door and looked up to see Severus standing behind her.

"Keep them coming, Jennifer," he said, pulling the one she had out of the doorway. As soon as Tonks was stationed with the waking students, Severus went in, immediately turning all the visible desks into stretchers. "What potion was it?"

"Greek fire, but I think somehow some of Baryon's Bottled Catalyst got in the mix," Jennifer said. Severus suddenly stopped cold and stared at her, but she was too busy trying to grab Laura Lupin to notice. Quickly pulling Bobby March's frozen form out from the smoke, Severus looked up to see Ginny and Andrew, Anna, and Hermione standing in the corridor. Danyelle was running over to them from the secret passage.

"I need everyone moved to the Great Hall at once! This explosion is likely to be catastrophic, I don't know if the protections on the lab will hold. Danyelle, evacuate people from the bottom up, Andrew from the top down, Anna pop out and get Sagitarri, have him meet us in the Great Hall," he snapped, turning to go back in.

"Father, wait!" Severus turned in surprise to see Aurelius running down the stairs with a medallion in his hand. "Don't go in there without this, and get Mum out of there before she hurts herself, the shrapnel gets worse further in! Headmaster's orders!" Aurelius added. Severus blinked but grabbed the Aegis and threw it around his neck, diving back in.

"Jennifer! Go pack your office!" Severus snapped, pulling her back.

"There's another student back there I can't get to, there's too much debris! And Dale is standing right next to the explosion!" Jennifer said.

"I'll get the rest out myself, do as your told, Professor Craw, this is no time to argue! Get Dagda's Cauldron out of here, and we have to reinforce the crypt, or we're going to have a lot less ghosts in this castle!" he barked at her. Reluctantly she stepped out, hearing cries of exclamation from Ginny and Hermione at her cut-up appearance.

"It can wait, just work on getting them upstairs," Jennifer insisted, heading to her office. She was quite surprised to see Aurelius was already in there, stuffing the least replacable potions in a puzzle box.

"Your Chest Cloak is on the chair, Mum, fill it," Aurelius said.

"How in the world…."

"Father tells me about it an hour from now," Aurelius said briskly. "I'd hurry if I were you. The explosion is so fast that even with the Freeze Frame slowing it down it can't stop it for too much longer. In fact…" he said, glancing at the clock, "we have ten minutes." Jennifer's eyes widened and she immediately went to her desk and swept her arm over it in to a pile and practically poured it in the pockets, ransacking the drawers as quickly as she could while Aurelius pulled off stacks of tomes and put them in his then sprinted out the door. A bell sounded…the Hogwart's Bell, and she found herself looking up the clock…two minutes! Tossing on her cloak, she grabbed Dagda's Cauldron and dove up the stairs relieved that no one other than herself seemed to be anywhere near. As she ran down the corridor to the Great Hall, Severus came out from a side corridor and half-aided, half-pushed her inside, the doors slamming shut behind them.

Not even a second later, a muffled explosion followed by a fierce shaking caused them to fall to the floor, the students and staff letting out yelps of surprise as bits of dust and plaster dusted them. As the trembling stopped, Jennifer gave Severus a hug in sheer relief. He briefly returned it before forcing himself back on his feet, brushing himself off.

"Professor Weasley? Everyone present and accounted for?"

"Professor Sprout was in the greenhouse and missed the call; I asked her to stay put, so she's fine. Everyone else is here but Mr. Carnegie and Auror Snape."

"Here, Professors!" John said from the back door, covered with soot but otherwise looking no worse for the wear. "I believe Auror Snape left just after he sent me to ring the bell, Sir."

"Madame Potter?" Severus asked, glancing at Ginny.

"Mostly lacerations, Professor, except for Mr. Chance, his arm is in real bad shape. The doctor is looking at him," Ginny said, pointing to where the centaur had curtained off a corner of the room.

"We'll have him moved as soon as we know how much structure damage we just sustained," Severus said, taking a moment to exhale, looking over the excited students.

"Professor Weasley, have those teaching a class this hour who can teach them from here gather in sections and continue." Hermione stared at him a moment. "Everyone else we'll organize into a study section. Professor Craw, your classes are cancelled for today."

"Ya think?" Jennifer said dryly, Severus turning to her in response.

"And just when, might I ask, do we ever allow something as volatile as Baryon's Catalyst in the school to begin with?" he asked. Jennifer smiled thinly in response, digging in her cloak until she pulled out a schoolbook and tapped it.

"Fifth year book. I'm afraid Dale must have pulled it off my shelf instead of the basic accelerant I had stored for this," Jennifer said.

"Yes, I'm sure learning how to make Greek Fire would be useful to students," Severus said curtly, Jennifer's smile widening in response. "Professor Craw, don't you dare say 'I told you so.' Now is not the time."

"Fine, I'll just make an appointment for that," Jennifer said, getting an annoyed look from Severus in response as they went to see how bad the damage was.

They took the main corridor to make certain the way to the hospital ward was clear first, Severus insisting that Jennifer tell him exactly what she had experienced, double checking facts and time. As turned to the classrooms and neared the far end they had to slow down, for dust and debris had cluttered the top of the stairwell to the dungeons; where the stairs themselves were was now a twisted mess of iron and rubble.

"Well, at least there was only minimal damage to the Defense room," Jennifer said as the two of them peered down the stairwell. But the dust was still thick, reflected on bright sunbeams coming in from the breached wall. Severus peered upwards.

"If the stairwell is any indication, we have at least three floors of structural damage above, not that I'm any expert in such things. I imagine it's worse below. Check the houserooms and grab John and a couple of staff to temporarily seal off all the passages and corridors in this section. I need to get the ball rolling with Aurelius, Owl parents, and get Sirius here."

"Right," Jennifer said, turning the debris into a makeshift barrier in front of the stairwell before running to get Andrew and Tonks while hurried towards the main stair.

It could have been worse.

At least, that was what Jennifer kept telling herself when the three of them got done with the barricades and she slipped down the staircase, staring at the hole where her lab and office once had been. Half the storeroom above had lost its floor and paper was now blowing in the wind; everything that had been left in her office had been incinerated, including the painting of Minerva, whose last act of getting to Hermione's secretary and getting the warning out probably saved a great many student lives. She sighed, turning some of the debris into buttresses to take some of the strain off the existing walls and a pair of pillars before sliding to the ground to sit on what might have once been her desk, staring out into the sunlight as waiting for the unreal feeling to go away.

The sound of falling rubble behind her alerted her to someone else's presence, and she looked up to see Severus stepping out of the stairwell.

"Anna says Sirius is in the States, but he is on his way here," Severus said. "I see you had to seal off the stairs to the higher floors."

"Andrew says the way the back stair was constructed all the support was on the lowest stair," Jennifer said, accepting his hand up. "Most of the secret passages on this side of the castle had to be shut down as well. I suppose we'll have to take the long way around for a while."

"John is clearing the old art room for you to use for your class. It seems that you were able to get what you wanted after all," Severus said.

"What? Bigger windows for the dungeon?" Jennifer asked dryly.

"Not having to do labs for awhile," Severus said, then glanced at the open wall. "Yes, well, it seems you have both, doesn't it?" he murmured, shaking his head. "This is my fault. I let the board get under my skin and went too far with it."

"Now, don't go blaming yourself," Jennifer said, putting an arm around him. "Besides, as I understand it, Dale Chance was more than happy to take the blame," she added with an amused smile. But Severus gazed over the rubble with a dark, somber expression.

"You know, I spent more than half my life in this stupid lab," he said after a moment. Jennifer gazed up at him with concern, her own emotions suddenly dwarfed by what she read in his eyes. "Now, just like that, it's gone, as if to prove none of it mattered."

"Nonsense, Severus, it matters to a great many people," Jennifer said quietly, wrapping her other arm around him. "It isn't the end of the world, Severus, and the fact that everyone got out without more serious injuries is a blessing that can't be ignored. We'll rebuild. Exactly as it was, if that's what you want."

"No, we'll make improvements, Jennifer. I want better firewalls between the lab, stairwell and the other sections of the dungeon especially, and we should just fill in the rooms on the next two floors above it. I've always wanted better protection for the Cauldron in your office, and I suppose we could consider the windows issue," he mused. Jennifer smiled and kissed his cheek lovingly. "If only other things in my life were so easy to rebuild."

"There's always room for improvements, Severus," Jennifer said firmly. "You don't have to start from scratch to do it."

"Was there anything lost in the blast of any consequence, or did you manage to get it all out in time?" Severus said, abruptly changing the subject.

"All of my rare ingredients of course, but the main thing lost was the portrait of Minerva she had done for me just before she left," Jennifer said quietly. "I think it was the only painting of her in the castle, although there are quite a number of photos." Severus' frown deepened. "I'm glad the other painting had already been sent to the containment room, or we'd have lost your portrait too. Are the ghost's vaults alright?"

"Yes, I had Aurelius come in earlier to reinforce it before the blast," Severus said. "It could have been worse."

"So I've been trying to tell myself," Jennifer admitted.

"Well, standing here staring at it won't make it better. You have a classroom to prepare before Monday, and I need to check the emergency fund and see how much deeper this is going to put us above budget," Severus said.

"Would you mind terribly if I re-supplied some of the class ingredients myself, then?" Jennifer asked as they walked down the corridor.

"Whatever for? You know quite well none of the other classrooms are safe for labs…"

"I can do balms, Severus, at least the ones that are non-temperature sensitive…the worst they can do is boil the cauldron over," Jennifer pressed. Severus frowned at her disapprovingly. "Look, none of the lower classes understand alchemist notation at all…"

"I hardly expected them to," Severus shrugged.

"Yes, I know, but I'm simply not going to wash up all my classes because of the silly board's book recommendations," Jennifer said firmly. "There's still OWLS and NEWTS to consider, after all, especially if they drag these books on. If I can make simple balms, I can write them out in notation and go through them line by line so at least they can learn how to read the basic ones. I won't change the homework or book tests, Severus, but at least let me salvage part of their education. Just because it's too advanced doesn't mean it's not useful for them to learn, in fact if we do this right they'll be more prepared for advanced classes if they chose to take them."

"Fine, fine," Severus said with exasperation. "Send me a list of safe and inexpensive balms you think would work for what you have in mind so I can sign off on them. But don't forget you need to be at Quidditch tryouts this weekend."

"Thank you, Professor," Jennifer said with a warm smile. "You know, you really are better at this job than you think you are."

"Considering the mess just behind us, that remains to be seen," Severus said. Jennifer silently shook her head, but knew better than to press the argument any further.

The hospital ward was swarming with students and parents when Lucky and Ambrose came to see Lindsay. The majority of students were sitting around Dale, who was sitting up with a bandage around his head and his right arm completely wrapped, but a table full of parcels sat beside him. Lucky rolled her eyes, wondering if the gifts weren't as much as well wishes as for blowing up the lab, especially when he was busy telling the students around him exactly what he had done, probably not for the first time.

"There they are," Ambrose said, pulling Lucky back to where Anna was sitting next to Lindsay's bed. "Look, there are the Lupins too!" He ran over to the bed next to Lindsay, saying a quick hi to her before going over to where Laura was with her parents. Lucky watched curiously as the elderly man with a haggard face but a warm smile mussed up Ambrose's hair, the lady sitting with him making a comment on how much he'd grown.

"'Ey Lindsay. Rough day, eh?" Lucky said.

"Exciting," she grinned. "One minute I see smoke, the next I'm in the hall getting rushed up the stairs!"

"That's one way of getting out of Craw's potion class," Lucky chuckled.

"It'll give her a chance to get caught up with the homework," Anna suggested. Lindsay made a face.

"Have you_seen_ our potion's homework?" Lindsay asked her.

"I don't think we have to worry about that, Lindsay," Laura said from the next bed. "I think it all got blown to smithereens. Along with our books and our potion kits."

"Well, those can be easily replaced, I'm just glad they were able to get all of you out of there in one piece as bad as the damage was," Remus said. "I think Jennifer's quick thinking and Severus' tendency to over-plan everything probably saved a lot of lives today."

"There can be little doubt of that," Carol said, squeezing her daughter's hand. "The Professor is assuredly one of the best Headmasters this school has ever seen."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Remus said. "You didn't know the same Severus I did."

"Was he as rotten as everyone says he was, Remus?" Ambrose asked with interest.

"Ambrose!" Anna and Carol shouted at once. Remus chuckled softly.

"Remus, have you met Fortuna Snape yet?" Anna asked, still frowning at Ambrose.

"Lucky," Lucky corrected quickly.

"Ah, that explains the look I've been getting! Hullo, Lucky!" Remus said warmly. "We've heard a lot about you from Sirius and Anna. And a talented Number Turner too, I hear."

"It is nice to meet you, Lucky," Carol added with a smile of her own. "I used to be your older siblings' nanny and lived with them for several years. You are in a very fine family."

"Thanks, tho' sometimes they make me wonder," Lucky said. Remus started to laugh until Carol gave him a dirty look and he cleared his throat, standing.

"Well, I think I'll go have a word or two with Severus before we leave," he decided, leaning down to whisper something in his daughters ear first. Laura grinned at him in response, watching him walk away.

"Glad to see you're both all right," Ambrose said, walking over and pulling Lucky's arm. "Come on, I want to see Dale too."

"Do we have to?" Lucky said, but said her goodbyes to the two girls.

"Aw come on, Lucky, you may not like him, but you can be nice. He almost died, ya know," Ambrose said.

"He looks okay to me," Lucky said, frowning disapprovingly as the crowd around him seemed to hang on every word and laugh on anything he said that was even remotely funny.

"Hullo, Dale!" Ambrose greeted him, pushing his way through.

"Hullo, Ambrose. Is that Lucky hiding back there?" Dale asked teasingly.

"Who's hiding?" Lucky asked with annoyance.

"Don't tell me you're sore that I accomplished what you spent all last year trying to do," Dale asked teasingly.

"_Un pequeño,"_ Lucky admitted, holding up her fingers to show how much.

"You are so competitive!" he said with an exasperated smile.

"Come on, Bill," Lucky said, pulling Ambrose away.

"Um. All right. See you," Ambrose said.

"Thanks for saying hello…sort of," Dale added the last part in a lower voice.

"Don't pay attention to her, Dale," Connie said, giving Lucky a dirty look as the two of them fought their way to the door. "Even if she has only been with them a year, Lucky is a Snape, through and through."

"That's hardly fair, Constance, you know she can be nice when she wants to be, even if she is rough around the edges," Tim said, nudging his cousin. "Just how did you manage to get on her bad side, Dale?"

"If you figure that one out, let me know," Dale said with a weak chuckle, tearing his eyes away from the door and quickly changing the subject.


	11. Vallidations

Chapter Eleven

Vallidations

When Alicia had gotten back to the research center and suggested the idea of getting a flat in town, Jacob wouldn't hear anything of it.

"I'm not going to let you be inconvenienced by something that wasn't your fault to begin with," he had told her. "You are better off being here so you'll have fair warning before the magnetic storms, and I'm not going to let it interrupt your studies any more than I will mine. I'll get over it," he added quietly. "Work…is the best thing for me. For both of us, I think. Besides, I'd rather not be alone right now…not that I expect you stay because of that. I'd much rather you stay because you wanted to. I've rather had my fill of folks pretending they want to be somewhere when they don't."

"She may try to make trouble if I stay, Jacob…"

"Do you want to stay or not?" Jacob asked seriously.

"Yes, but…"

"No buts," he said firmly. "Want to help me with some readings? I'm afraid that business earlier got me off track."

"Sure, why not?" Alicia said in resignation, and the two quickly fell back into their work habits.

In some ways, it had gotten easier without Zoë's constant interruptions during the day or her complaints during the evenings, although Alicia did find herself almost missing it from time to time. Jacob often grew unusually quiet and thoughtful, gazing off in no particular direction before pulling himself back to his work.

It was a couple of 'mornings' later as they were preparing for the next storm that Jacob's raven flew in with a note on the beak, fussing in front of Jacob until he looked up from his desk to take it.

"Ah, lovely, official mail from America," Jacob said dourly. "She didn't waste much time, did she?"

"She's a pro at this now," Alicia said dryly, sliding another finished canvas to one side. "Break for breakfast?"

"Might as well," Jacob said with a sigh, fussing with the seal as he worked his way out of his labyrinth of equipment.

"I'll start a fresh pot of coffee then," Alicia said, stretching a bit as she went to the kitchen.

"Well! This is rather odd. Not exactly what I was expecting," Jacob said. "It's from a wizard divorce lawyer named Ratherton wanting to know if I had representation, and if not he'd supply it pro bono."

"Ratherton? Never heard the name," Alicia said thoughtfully.

"I definitely don't know it, or how anyone short of the three of us even know what happened the other day…" Alicia groaned softly. "Do you suppose it's someone who knows Zoë somehow?"

"I have a feeling it's more likely it's someone who knows my father," Alicia admitted, fishing through the frozen dinners and pulling a couple out. "It'd be just like him to pull some strings in something like this! I told him how Zoë tried to get me mixed up in it."

Jacob looked up from the note with a look of concern.

"And just what does he think happened here?"

"Nothing," Alicia assured him, handing him one of the trays. "In fact, he was the one that convinced me to come back."

"Oh," Jacob said, wandering over to the fireplace and sitting his tray down, still looking at the tray thoughtfully. "Do you think I should take the offer?" Alicia shrugged.

"That's up to you, isn't it? Really, I don't have any right to get involved in that decision."

"Well, I certainly don't want to feel obligated if your father did send him…"

"If he did, it was to try and protect me," Alicia admitted. "The question is, can you afford to hire someone who can go up against one of Zoë's Hollywood lawyers?"

"You know I can't," Jacob sighed. "Do you suppose she'd actually try and take the research station?" Alicia pretended not to hear him, pouring their coffee instead. "I know, I know, you don't want to take sides, and I don't blame you. We've put you in a rough position, and I've no right to ask you to give me advise on it. Although, I should warn you that if I do decide to take the offer, he wants to have both of us interviewed by a court Truth Seeker to stand witness."

Alicia stood up abruptly, nearly spilling her coffee all over her shirt in the process.

"Do they give a name? What's the name?" she demanded.

"There isn't one," Jacob said, surprised by her reaction.

"Where's the lawyer from?" Alicia said, putting down her coffee and food and wiping on her hands on her shirt, grabbing the note out of his hand, reading the address in the letterhead. "Take the offer."

"Hey! Whatever happened to you wanting to stay…"

"Don't argue, trust me and take the offer!" Alicia said.

"Sounds like good, solid advice to me," said a familiar voice, and Alicia ran over to the entrance just in time to see Lunette Vallid pulling herself in and standing up. "Sorry, no doorbell. No door for that matter. Nice place. Can I come in?" Laughing outright, Alicia ran over to her and hugged her.

It was the night of the lab accident when Lunette finally got around to calling at Hogwarts, and after taking a very long look at the castle as she walked around the lake, she wondered if she oughtn't have called ahead. But inside things seemed relatively peaceful; and when she got to the stairs, she saw that she wasn't coming entirely unexpected. As she climbed, she took a break now and again to glance at the paintings…several she remembered passing didn't seem to be there, and the paintings all seemed unusually tense, making her wish that she could read them as well as she could people. She started up again, but paused when she saw a familiar face on a different landing waiting for a stair change, talking to one of the ghosts.

"Good evening, Lunette," Zack said with a smile. Janus bowed cordially.

"Good evening, Zack, working some overtime, eh?" Lunette said.

"With this castle it's a wonder I get any sleep at all," he chuckled.

"Well, don't go too far, I need to talk to you too," she warned him, continuing up the stairs so they would change behind her.

"I won't," Zack promised with a wave, turning back to Janus.

She was nearing the tenth floor before she paused again, blinking in surprise when she saw just below her Francis Pyther walking with a covered painting, cutting over to another corridor on the same floor before quickly falling out of sight again. Wondering what to make of it, Lunette's Truth Seeker nature to want to know everything got the better of her, and she found herself rushing up the last five floors to find the door to the spiral staircase open and beckoning. Slightly out of breath, she walked into the Headmaster's Study and saw him working at his desk, not in any hurry to look up.

"I hope I'm not intruding," Lunette said.

"It was only a matter of time. Everyone else on the planet seems to have been in and out of this castle today," Severus said calmly, waving her to a chair. "Tea?"

"Thanks," she said, grabbing a cup off the tray before sitting down. "I just thought you'd like to know that I just turned in evidence for a particular divorce proceeding, and even though, of course, I can't comment on the evidence, I figured you might be interested to know that I think you did the right thing in requesting it."

"If I thought otherwise, I wouldn't have done it," Severus said. Lunette grinned with amusement.

"In fact, I think it's safe to say that your daughter may be finally realizing you might have her best interests at heart after all although…well, Severus, you can't blame me for wondering…what in the name of Hades is Francis Pyther doing here?"

"Emergency with the paintings, his presence here is unavoidable; he's been going back and forth between here and his studio. It's not an attempt to stall further if that's what you are thinking," Severus said.

"Never mind what I'm thinking, care to tell me why you're avoiding my gaze?" Lunette asked, drumming her fingers against her cup impatiently, but he still wouldn't look up. "Or at least why Jennifer stopped answering my letters? She only does that when she's particularly troubled about something she doesn't want to tell me about. The girl doesn't feel she can lie to me even in print," Lunette chuckled softly. "If she knew how often I had to do that in my profession she'd probably be surprised. Does it have to do with the damage to the castle? No, that just happened, didn't it?"

"Lunette, whatever happened to common legilimens etiquette? I do have some right to privacy," Severus said irritably. "What do I owe you for your services?"

"What, for a couple of interviews with people actually not trying to withhold the truth?" Lunette said, waving it off. "It was nothing, Severus, Zoë needed a wake-up call and helping Alicia out of that silliness was a pleasure. Besides, as far as I'm concerned, you're all as good as family."

"Probably a very unwise move…considering the rate my family is growing, it'll soon be a full time job to keep them out of trouble. Come to think of it, it already is," Severus said. Lunette chuckled.

"I know the feeling. I have so many great grandchildren now I can't keep their names and ages straight anymore," she admitted. "But really, if you want to pay me back, all you have to do is answer one little question with your chin off the desk so I don't die of curiosity."

"No," Severus said.

"Fine," Lunette said, putting down her cup. "You're right, Severus, you are entitled to your privacy after all. I was going to stop by and say hello to Zack and Pyther while I'm here, but I think I'll track down Jennifer first."

"Feel free, but don't be surprised when you have trouble finding her. Some of the paintings have been moved for security reasons, and as you may have noticed on your way in here, her office isn't exactly in the same location either," Severus said calmly.

"No need for all of that," Lunette said with an enigmatic smile, getting up and walking past him to the back. "The door behind these curtains goes to your sitting room, does it not? So if she happens to be in the next room, a simple knock will probably do it…"

"Fine, you win," Severus said with obvious irritation in his voice as Lunette returned to her seat, the smile never leaving her face as she gracefully sat back down again. "Although I swear at times your methods verge on blackmail and coercion."

"I'm a gracious winner, Severus, but I always win," Lunette said, her smile widening slightly.

"What's the question, Lunette?" Severus asked, looking up in resignation.

"What's troubling you?" Lunette asked, the smile still fixed.

"What isn't troubling me?" Severus answered in irritation. Lunette stared at his face for the split second he allowed it and whistled low as he looked down again.

"Boy, you are a mess," Lunette said before she could catch herself. Severus glared at her. "Nice occlumens attempt, by the way, but I saw enough. How old are you again, Severus?"

"Get out," Severus advised her.

"Oh, that's much too young to be pulling a mid-life, Severus, considering how long you're likely to be at this…but that's part of the trouble, isn't it?" Lunette mused. Severus stood then, pointing at the doors that burst open.

"Out of my office!" he ordered.

"Didn't you ever warn him about this sort of thing?" Lunette asked, turning on the painting of Dumbledore who simply shrugged and smiled sadly. "Mute oil. Hate the stuff. You should have staff done with normal ghost paint…I'm going, I'm going!" Lunette said, getting up as Severus made a move for his wand.

"And no bugging Jennifer!" he snarled.

"Oh no, Severus, a deal is a deal, but I do still want to see Pyther and Zack so I'll show myself out," she said, walking over to the doors. She closed one of them then went back for the other, pausing a moment to smile sympathetically at him. "Take care of yourself, Severus. And feel free to Owl me anytime you need me…or even if you don't for that matter," she added before closing the door.

Lunette exhaled then, shaking her head knowing full well that he was probably still standing there glaring at the door. She stepped down the spiral stairs and down the corridor, wondering if she remembered which floor she had seen Pyther on. It was then that she belatedly remembered that Severus did have some control over the stairs, and could very well make it difficult for her to visit Pyther if he had a mind to stop it. But would he have reason? As she pondered that, she was somewhat relieved to find that the stairs had settled to different positions that they had been before, and floors that had been skipped now had clear landings.

She took one of these, looking around until she noticed Dumbledore slipping into a field of lavender, pointing her in a direction. Nodding to him she took it, watching the paintings until he appeared again, leading her to a set of reinforced doors. She was busy deciding whether or not to try to knock on the metal doors or try to push them open when someone began to leave, the dusty haired man stopping short when he saw her.

"Counselor?" he asked warily.

"Hello, Carnegie," Lunette said, quite amused by what he saw on his face. "No, you're not in any trouble and I'm not here for you. I'm actually looking for Mr. Pyther."

"Ah! Of course!" he said, and then paused. "Does the Headmaster know you're here?"

"Oh yes! And he's not happy about seeing me either," she said wryly, stepping in when he moved away from the door.

But even though she saw Pyther right away in the back of the large room, she couldn't help but pause to look at the paintings dominating the walls, many of them crowding in a pair of the closer frames to get a better look at her. As she walked a few of them followed curiously, while some wandered into their own frames or to other paintings with scenery. She was about ready to look away when she noticed the familiar figures of Jennifer and Severus in their best clothes looking out over a parapet with Jennifer's arm wrapped around his, his other hand gently touching hers as they looked off into the distance.

"That's one of their favorite places in the castle," Francis said out of the blue, and Lunette looked over to see Francis standing beside her, smiling. "That particular scene really didn't need to be in here, but I was hoping it'd settle their portraits a bit. They tend to get restless when they feel restricted."

"Hm, like subject like portrait I suppose," Lunette said, shaking her head with a smile.

"Yes, very true," Francis agreed. "It's good to see you, Lunette! How have you been?"

"Same old, same old," Lunette grinned. "And you?"

"Busy," Francis admitted.

"And exhausted," Lunette said knowingly.

"I get a batnap now and again, but the eight hour comings and goings has completely ruined any consistency I had in studio hours," Francis chuckled.

"Well, make up your mind, where would you rather be?" Lunette asked with amusement.

"Both, really," Francis admitted. "I'm very concerned with what's happening to the paintings here and the danger to the school, but at the same time, I'd rather be home."

"Well, I have to admit, it does put a damper on the chance of meeting her again casually when you're spending every Greenwich night stuck in this room with that thing on the wall," Lunette said, nodding to the paradox painting.

"It keeps the paintings in here from wandering out of the room, it's as simple as that, and so far, I think it's helped," Francis assured her. "Instead of groups of four or five paintings at once, we're catching them one at a time."

"But it's still happening," Lunette said, scanning his face.

"Yes, but it has slowed down," Francis said.

"Hm. I've never heard of anything like this before," Lunette said. "Maybe we should call an early order of Merlin meeting and get some more heads in on this."

"I think the Headmaster is concerned about people finding out how widespread the problem is, what with so many paintings tied with security and all. But I'm working on it," Francis assured her.

"Apparently so," Lunette nodded. "But I still think it's ironic that you've been here when I've been just outside of Polaris Town all day."

"Is everything well there?" Francis asked quietly.

"Perfectly," Lunette smiled. "At least it is now that I did a bit of meddling," she added mischievously. "Let's just say if Zoë tries to blame the marriage breaking up on Jacob and Alicia it's not going to get very far. Maybe she'll finally wise up and stop trying to manipulate people after this."

"So there was nothing to that?" Francis prompted, and Lunette gazed at him thoughtfully.

"You knew very well there was nothing to that, Pyther," Lunette said. "But I am wondering why part of you was hoping that it was true." Pyther sighed softly, walking back over to the painting he was working on. But Lunette followed behind, leaning against the wall to keep in view of his face.

"Jacob Greencastle is a very kind man, Lunette," he said quietly, dusting the frame. "He's young, enthusiastic, supportive, and most importantly, full of life," Pyther said. "I wouldn't mind losing her to someone like that, if you can call it losing something you never had to begin with. Then I can finally be released from it and go on with my life."

"Yes, well, I hate to break this to you, Pyther, but real love can't be released like that," Lunette said with a sympathetic smile.

"I never meant to imply I was ever in love with her," Pyther said. Lunette blinked at him, wondering if he had forgotten whom he was talking to. "It is only that things had gotten out of hand. It was a childhood crush that I allowed myself to get flattered by, and I have no excuse for my actions in the matter. Severus was right. I deserved what I got, and now I just wish it'd go away."

"Don't tell me you've been feeding yourself the line for eight years, Pyther," Lunette said, putting a hand to her forehead a moment. "It may have been a crush on Alicia's part when this whole thing started, but it was what Severus saw in your eyes that scared the daylights out of him. No offense meant."

"I didn't do anything," Francis said irritably.

"Then why did you just say Severus was right and you deserved what you got?" Lunette pointed out.

"It was a mental…setback, that's all," Francis said quietly.

"No, what Severus is having now is a mental setback," Lunette said with amusement. "Although at the moment I'm not sure which of you is worse off. Francis, you know very well you can't lie to me, although it's obvious you've been attempting to lie to yourself. You may have not been love with her at the time, but you were in the process of falling in love," she said. He shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment. "Well, if you weren't, I'd wonder what else it could have been, and I'm sure the other alternatives to what it might have been should worry you even more. But damn it all, Francis, I rely on truth, and I can't help someone who doesn't even know what the truth is on the inside. The only logical course of action would be for you to find out for sure. It's time you stopped hiding behind that paradox painting and talked to her."

"Do you see that portrait of Jennifer?" Francis said, gazing up to where the two figures had come back into Severus' sitting room. "I painted that years before that girl was born. I began teaching Alicia before she was even in Hogwarts. I am six hundred years her elder…"

"You are twenty-three and act like it, especially at the moment. You may have the memories knowledge of all that time in between, but you personally haven't changed any more than I have in the last hundred years. In the meantime, the world moves by so fast you barely have time to blink. Static age is a curse, not a blessing."

"Yes," Pyther agreed.

"Did you know I got remarried a few years back?" Lunette said, out of the blue. Pyther gazed at her curiously. "Doctor I met when Jennifer got kidnapped and sent to New York. Jeff wasn't exactly young for a Muggle even when we met…always did have a weakness for Muggles. Doubt we'll have more than another dozen or so years together."

"But why put yourself through that, knowing what it's going to be like when he's gone?"

"Because I love him, why else? We hit it off from the moment we first met," Lunette said with a smile. "And I loved Frank, and all the children and grandchildren that are his legacy."

"I can't have that," Pyther reminded her.

"Ah, but you have something I've never had. An option," Lunette pointed out seriously. "I can't very well stop being half-fae, disowning my parents wouldn't help. Not that I'm suggesting you take that other route. Only you know what's best for you…that is, of course, providing that you have some sort of clue what exactly it is that you _do_ want, and frankly, I don't think you should wait too much longer before you try and figure it out."

"And just how do you suggest I do that? I can't very well just go up to the door and ask her to tea," Francis said.

"No, that wouldn't work, they don't have a door," Lunette agreed, and Francis frowned at her in confusion. "You're an artist, Francis. Be creative," she smiled. "Now, I really have to dash. I need to go explain to Zacchius why I'm taking sides against his sister before things start hitting the fan, though I dare think he'll be supportive. And good luck in both your endeavors," she said, looking up at the walls one more time before shaking her head. "You're gonna need it."


	12. Alternatives

Chapter Twelve

Alternatives

Lucky reluctantly followed Ambrose down to the Quidditch Pitch the next day as the boy excitedly tried to get her to speed up. She shook her head but followed along, knowing this wasn't going to go well.

"Hey, Lucky!" Lucky looked over to the stands to see Dale sitting there, his arm still wrapped in light bandages. "Trying out?"

"No, I'm just here with Ambrose," Lucky explained. "I didn't even finish broom lessons last year. Professor Snape let me opt out after I broke Madame Brittles arm and my leg on the first day."

"Oh, well, I can't play today either, so how about watching with me?" Dale suggested.

"I need to go over to the Hufflepuff side," Ambrose explained.

"Don't tell me he thinks he's going to try out?" Delia asked as she past by the stands. "I thought they just passed a rule about that sort of thing."

"What sort of thing?" Lucky frowned, wondering what she was up to.

"I heard Pimra bragging to the Coventry boys the other day that she could try out and they couldn't because their birthdays were too late to try out this year."

"Half a moment," Dale put in. "I know the first years have to use school brooms and all, but there never has been any sort of age limit as far as I know."

"Shows what you know, Keeper, because I happen to know there is one, just started this year," Delia said.

"He wouldn't have! He wouldn't do this to me!" Ambrose said in a panic.

"I told you, Bill, I knew the Professor would pull something like this," Lucky said, shaking her head.

"Come on, guys, everyone knows anything she says is hearsay, let's go ask Madame Brittle," Dale suggested, getting up and stepping off the stands. But as they began to walk towards where Brittle was, Lucky didn't fail to notice that the instructor was already watching them, nor had Lucky missed the movement in the teacher's box where Jennifer had been sitting.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Chance, Miss Snape, Mr. Bailey. Came to watch the tryouts?" Danny asked.

"Watch? I came to try out!" Ambrose said firmly.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Bailey, but that's not going to happen," Danny said, shaking her head. "You must at least twelve by the end of the school year to try out."

"What? But that means I won't be able to play Quidditch until my fifth year! I don't believe it!" Ambrose said angrily.

"It's for the safety of the students, Mr. Bailey," Danny said firmly.

"It is not! It's just Snape's way of keeping me personally off the Pitch and I know it!" Ambrose snapped.

"That's five points off Hufflepuff for speaking in a disrespectful tone about the Headmaster, Mr. Bailey, and if you don't calm down, it'll soon become ten," Danny said.

"Alicia got to play _her_ first year…"

"Not that it matters now, but she also turned twelve before she the end of the year…"

"Well, now we know why that's in there," Ambrose scoffed.

"What about Harry Potter?" Dale offered.

"Either way that was under a different Headmaster and times change. This rule, however, will not be going away. I fully endorse the decision myself," Danny said firmly. "Besides, with all that's going on, you should probably be concentrating on getting your homework done anyhow."

"As if anyone could finish it," Lucky retorted.

"Does Gryffindor want points off as well?" Danny warned.

"Come on, guys, it can't be helped," Dale said.

"Easy for you to say! You're on a team already!" Ambrose shouted at him and then stormed towards the stands. Lucky glared at Dale and jogged to catch up with Ambrose. "I can't say you didn't warn me, Lucky. She did everything but tell me, 'I'm sorry, you're too little, why don't you go home?'" Ambrose muttered angrily.

"Aw, come on, Bill, it ain't the end of the world, is it? 'Ey, I know, maybe I can teach you football instead," Lucky offered, getting rewarded with a vicious glare. He slowed up, and Lucky looked up to see Jennifer waiting for them at the edge of the Pitch.

"I'm very sorry about this, Ambrose," Jennifer said sympathetically.

"Is he?" Ambrose challenged her.

"Come sit down a moment," Jennifer said, taking his arm. "Look, I know this is roughest on you, but you're hardly the only student that can't try out this year…"

"But all of them can try out next year! I can't!"

"I know, I can understand your being upset," Jennifer said gently. "But Quidditch is a dangerous game and most teams are generally made up of sixth or seventh year students who are twice your age. I don't blame the Headmaster for not wanting to ship you home in a matchbox because you got over your head out there."

"Yeah, that sounds like somethin' he'd say," Lucky snorted.

"The Headmaster was hardly the only one who raised concerns. I have a feeling even some of your friends tried to talk you out of it," Jennifer said. Ambrose looked at Lucky ruefully, but she just shrugged noncommittally. "However, perhaps I can interest you in another activity instead," she continued, and Lucky turned to look at her suspiciously. "I think it would be a better plan if the two of you joined my Dueling Club. It suits your talents better, you can become much more disciplined with a wand, and frankly, the Headmaster and I would feel a lot better if Lucky took it anyhow," she admitted. Lucky's face darkened at the thought of being 'volunteered'. "There are some definite other advantages too…I know the two of you only have one class together this year and there's lots of time between your matches to talk, and there is the potential of earning points for your house."

"What about Uncle Snape?" Ambrose asked with a slight sniffle.

"Headmaster Snape has already given permission, as has your mother," Jennifer reassured him, then saw the look on Lucky's face. "Yours have too."

"I figured that," Lucky said, unimpressed. "Aren't we supposed to have, like, no unfinished homework or somethin' to participate in that sort of thing?"

"Yes, Lucky, why do you ask?" Jennifer said innocently. "No Professor has come to me about unfinished homework at all, although, I would suggest you make sure to finish your Potion homework," she advised with a thin smile.

"Yeah, I figured that too," Lucky said flatly.

"Let's do it, Lucky!" Ambrose said brightly. "I've always wanted to learn how to duel."

"Fine," Lucky said in complete resignation.

"I'll see you both next Friday then," Jennifer said and gave her daughter a warm smile. Lucky watched as she got up and went back inside, wondering what she had just gotten herself into.

As Jennifer walked down the corridor on her way to the stairs, she heard her name called and looked up to see Tonks with a large tome in hand.

"You busy?" she asked.

"Not really, I was on my way to the new office to unpack," Jennifer said.

"Oh, right. Need any help?" Tonks offered.

Jennifer had a sudden, horrifying image of what would happen to what was left of her equipment upon taking such an offer.

"Quite alright, I can manage," Jennifer said with a wan smile. "Did you need to talk to me about something?"

"Actually, yes, it's about this book," Tonks began, following her down the hall.

"Now, Tonks, you know I'm supposed to direct you to the Headmaster when it comes to…"

"No, no, no…it's not that, it's a problem with one of your house students," she said, and Jennifer met her gaze.

"Laura Lupin?" Jennifer asked, and Tonks opened the book Jennifer began reading the entry with a frown and then gasped, nearly dropping it when one hand went to her face in shock. "Great stars, how can you possibly teach this?"

"The problem is if I take this to the Headmaster. he will quickly point out that all the points about werewolves, however brutal, are quite valid, as are all the methods of killing them are as well…"

"Yes, but did they have to list twenty of them?" Jennifer said, turning the page.

"That's nothing. There's also an entry in the footnote index telling which books to refer to for harvesting specific werewolf parts. I can't do this, Jennifer. I couldn't do this to an enemy, let alone someone I care about. Suggestions?" Tonks asked.

"I don't know…I don't know, but we've got to do something. Severus is less likely to say no if we come up with some sort of alternative before approaching him about it," Jennifer said.

"All the memorization so far has been geared towards how to defeat X dark creature. I don't know how I could make an exception on this," Tonks said. "I don't know Jennifer, maybe we can slip her a potion so she has to be sick that day," she chuckled. Jennifer stared at her for a moment until at last a smile crept on her face.

"I think you're onto something, Tonks." Tonks blinked.

"About slipping her a potion? Jennifer! I was just joking!" Tonks protested.

"I know, but it gave me an idea. We may not be able to change the content, but maybe we can change the delivery. When do you have to teach this?" Jennifer asked.

"Couple of weeks, maybe…"

"I'm sure we can arrange something then. We need to talk to Hermione," Jennifer said, turning around.

"She's never here on weekends, is she?" Tonks asked.

"I heard her say she had an appointment with Doctor Sagittari this afternoon and was planning to write up damage estimates on the lab after she was done," Jennifer explained, heading back outside with Tonks' defense book still in hand. "And I know for a fact that our good doctor never lets any of his patients go until they've eaten. I'm sure she's still there."

"We could always wait for her here," Tonks suggested.

"And pass up a chance at Sagittari's cooking? Are you mad?" Jennifer said with a grin.

Fortunately, the centaur had gotten into the habit of expecting dinner party crashers on every given day, greeting the witches warmly and setting two extra plates without a swish of the tail. After they had finished and were on their way back, Jennifer wasted no more time in filling Hermione into the situation, Hermione nodding thoughtfully as she glanced at the book and listened to Jennifer's suggestion.

"So you want Tonks to take a day off and have Remus come teach it?" Hermione repeated thoughtfully, and then nodded. "I think it's a good idea, if he'd agree to it. Of course, that has its problems as well. Most of the students don't know her position, and I'd think it's safe to say everyone would find out if you did this."

"I know it's hardly a perfect solution, Hermione," Jennifer said. "This material is going to be brutal for her to memorize and copy no matter what we do, but in this way maybe we can soften the blow a little, or at least give Remus a little control how it's delivered. He wouldn't go against the book if we asked him not to," she added quickly.

"No, he wouldn't," Hermione agreed. "I trust him teaching under any circumstances, Jennifer. And you have a point. I'd rather it come out than have her attempting to deal with this lesson alone, but ultimately, I'd think it'd be up to Remus. Let's send him a letter, check the moon cycle, and dig up an absence request form."

"I hope Remus will be up for it," Tonks said.

"I hope we can get Severus to approve an absence," Jennifer said in a low voice.

"Leave that to me," Hermione said, leading them to her office. But as she strode in to her desk to get out a note card, she heard someone gasp behind her. Turning around to see Jennifer's eyes focus on the wall she looked in that direction and let out a scream, for the painting of Demura, who had been Minerva's secretary as well as hers had now been replaced with boiling clouds. "No, no, no, no, NO! How am I supposed to do this job without her?" Hermione yelled, pulling on her hair.

"I'd better go get the Headmaster," Tonks offered, running out of the room.

"I don't get it! She never leaves the frame! Secretaries act more like a switch board…"

"I think it's my fault," Jennifer said reluctantly, and Hermione stared at her. "When the lab blew up, I sent Minerva to Demura to give the alarm because I didn't have my Severus portrait in the room. Minerva didn't always stay in her frame, she might have been infected…"

"It couldn't be helped, Jennifer," Hermione said with a sigh. "You certainly had no choice. Poor Demura! Now what am I going to do?"

"How many other paintings are capable of keeping up as secretary?" Jennifer asked.

"I don't know, but it can't be many of them," Hermione said. "What if I can't find one?"

"Hire a living secretary?" Jennifer suggested.

"How many people would you trust to do that job, Jennifer?" Hermione asked, and Jennifer grew quiet. They were still standing there somberly looking at it when Severus and Tonks arrived. He gazed at it with the same blank stare for a while before noticing that Hermione and Jennifer were both looking at him worriedly.

"Any idea why Demura would have left her frame?" he asked at last.

"She didn't, the Minerva portrait entered hers yesterday," Jennifer said miserably. "Minerva wasn't hooked up to normal security."

"That's right, the lab," Severus said with a sigh. "At least now we have some sort of general time frame on the infection, more or less twenty-four hours. Jennifer, where did Minerva tend to wander when she was out?"

"Mostly she left to play chess," Jennifer said. "Usually with…oh no!"

"Dumbledore!" Hermione finished with widened eyes. The four of them clamored out of the room, but none so fast as Severus, disappearing up the stairs before the others could get untangled from Tonks tripping in the doorway. They finally caught up to find the office left open for them, filing in to where Severus was standing in front of Dumbledore's portrait looking as if he was trying to recover from a near heart attack. Dumbledore watched them curiously as they ran in, tapping the seat in the portrait behind them as if suggesting they sit down.

"Thank goodness he's okay," Tonks said with relief.

"We can't know that for sure yet," Jennifer said.

"Demura was the last painting the Minerva portrait was in before it was destroyed," Hermione pointed out, "So maybe it's a good sign."

"Is there a separate painting of a chessboard?" Severus asked.

"Actually, there's two or three of them," Hermione said. "I'll go check on them."

"I'll come help," Tonks offered. Jennifer watched them leave, and then stepped around to the chair Severus was sitting in with his hand over his eyes.

"You all right?" Jennifer asked quietly.

"Not in the slightest," Severus said, but removed his hand and gazed at the portrait again. The portrait was gazing back intently, looking between them a moment before his eyes fixed on Jennifer's and he made a motion with his hand.

"You want to go somewhere?" Jennifer asked, and the portrait nodded with a smile.

"No…no, don't you dare go anywhere!" Severus said, standing up and glaring at him. "Have you any idea what sort of scare you just put us through?"

Dumbledore's face fell and he nodded sympathetically at Severus before glancing at each corner of the frame and gazing hard at Jennifer again.

"Severus, I think…I think Dumbledore wants to be put into the Containment Room," Jennifer said carefully, studying his face unsurely. A beaming smile suddenly appeared on Dumbledore's face. Severus frowned and watched Dumbledore carefully, nodding to Severus and becoming solemn. "I'm not sure what his reasons are, but there's no doubt he'd have a good one."

"Well, if it is because he's at some risk, I'd rather not have him around the other Headmaster paintings in any case," Severus decided with a tired expression. "Very well, let's humor him. But from now on, we need to work out some sort of quarantine system for incoming paintings going into the containment room to make sure they're not infected before going in there…if that means having someone sitting with one to make certain they don't fog out for twenty four hours, so be it."

"Lovely, won't that be fun?" Jennifer said, watching as Severus carefully removed Dumbledore's painting from the wall. As they stepped off the spiral stairs, Hermione was just coming down the hall.

"The chessboard in my sitting room was infected," she said grimly.

"Wonder who she was playing then?" Jennifer said.

"I imagine we'll find out soon enough," Severus said, carefully carrying the frame down the stairs.

"Are you taking him to the containment room?" Hermione asked.

"He insisted," Jennifer explained, and Hermione frowned with concern, following along behind.

Dumbledore seemed quite interested in his surroundings as they walked him down the hall, Jennifer opening the heavy doors for Severus so he could bring the portrait in. All of the other paintings in the room watched them with curiosity as Severus leaned the frame against the wall when he saw there weren't any hooks free.

"There are some easels still in my classroom closet, I'll have John bring them up," Jennifer offered when she saw the frown on his face.

"It can wait," Severus said after a moment when Dumbledore settled back in his chair. He carefully inspected each painting on the wall, but all of them seemed to be fine. "We should go do a sweep of the castle to see what else got hit this time. There will be at least one more."

"So there will be," Hermione agreed with a sigh, and the three of them left. Jennifer glanced back at Dumbledore one last time, but he seemed quite content in his chair and she carefully shut the doors behind them.

The moment the doors shut, Albus Dumbledore got out of his chair and walked out of the frame to visit another painting in the room.


	13. The Headmaster's New Secretary

Chapter Thirteen

The Headmaster's New Secretary

Severus stood in front of the painting, dreading what he knew he was going to have to do. Dippet had been moved to Hermione's office, and he really didn't know the other Headmaster paintings well enough to trust any of them with the job. It only left one option, and he knew it well. Exhaling loudly and frowning at the feather in his hand, he finally got up the nerve to hold it up to Caprica Dusthorn's portrait and tickle her under her nose. A second later, the portrait sneezed, and Caprica blinked, immediately pulling herself awake, rather amazed to find herself back in the Study.

"Well! Isn't this a surprise!" Caprica said, looking Severus up and down. "Not trying to quit on me already, are you?"

"We're in a bit of a crisis situation," Severus said solemnly. "A great many paintings have been damaged and I need you to fill in as secretary, assuming you promise to stay in your frame and not wander about."

"I don't know about that, yet, Severus, but if you called me for help I'm sure things aren't running with spit and polish," Caprica said. "How many years have I been asleep?"

"Seven."

"Seven? Is that all?" Caprica said with a raised brow. "What happened to Dippet?"

"With Hermione at the moment. Demura was one of the paintings damaged, and that's hardly all. I'm afraid I must tell you that one of the paintings that came up infected today was Bedivere O'Laren. Apparently he had been playing chess with the Minerva portrait…"

"Bedivere is damaged?" Caprica said, immediately upset. "How did this happen? What started all this?"

It took Severus the better part of an hour to fill Caprica in on the entire situation, Caprica growing unusually somber, intently listening to every word with an occasional question or two to clarify a point.

"Very well, Severus, I'll stay in my frame and do the job, you really had no choice, did you? I am glad you had enough sense to call Pyther back, although I'm sure Jennifer had a bit of say in that decision…"

"I don't suppose you're capable of doing this job without constantly adding your own opinion on things?" Severus said with irritation, walking back over to his desk. Caprica made a play as if she was thinking about it. In fact, she was quiet for so long that Severus had gotten back to his paperwork.

"Nope," she said at last with a pookish grin. Severus paused for only an instant before looking over his paper again as if he hadn't heard her. Just then there was a brisk knock on the door, and Severus unlocked it so that Hermione could come in.

"I thought you would have went home by now," he said, frowning at her.

"No, I had to get Dippet reoriented and I had some papers I wanted to finish so I don't have to do it on Monday," Hermione explained, walking over to the desk and putting the papers in front of them, her hand still firmly on them. "Can you sign these for me real quick? Just the addendum on what potions are allowed to be used by the school and its copies…"

"Wait," Severus said with a frown, putting his hand down on the stack and staring fixedly at Hermione until reluctantly she pulled her hand away. He fingered through them carefully before pulling one out of the stack. "This is not a copy."

"Oh that's right. Forgot about that one," Hermione said casually, but Severus hadn't missed the fact that it had been carefully placed between two of the other copies.

"So, Tonks is requesting a personal day off in a week and a half? Why?" Severus asked expressionlessly.

"Harry's having some sort of meeting with a few Aurors and ex-Aurors," Hermione explained evenly.

"Party, you mean. What's the occasion?"

"Not quite sure. Should I go ask?" Hermione offered.

"I really don't care, although I would have thought that Tonks would have some more palatable reason for requesting a day off. Whom do you have in mind to substitute, since Harry is obviously not an option?" he asked, glancing over the request.

"Tonks suggested we ask Remus Lupin, if it's not a bad week for him," Hermione admitted.

"Hm. Well, make absolutely certain it _isn't_ a bad week and remind Jennifer that she'll need to talk to Miss Lupin about our policies on student behavior when a parent is teaching. I trust you'll inform him about the strict rules about the text this year?" Severus said, signing the potion guidelines first.

"Absolutely," Hermione said with a nod.

"Very well then, but make sure Tonks knows she's not to make a habit of it," Severus said, signing off the request and handing the stack to her.

"Yes, Professor, I will," Hermione said, curbing the urge to smile triumphantly as she strode out of the room. Severus opened his desk drawer and glanced inside for a moment. Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, he turned back to his work.

As Hermione came off the spiral stair and into the hall, she spotted Jennifer waiting nearby, looking anything but casual as she waited impatiently for Hermione to come nearer. Grinning widely, Hermione held the paper up.

"He signed it?" Jennifer said excitedly. "Hermione, you're wonderful!"

"I know, I know," Hermione said, waving it off. "I hope it makes a difference."

"Yes, me too," Jennifer said. "Mind if I walk you out? I'm not sure I want to go back through there right away. He might suspect something is up."

"Well, he did try to ask me a lot of nosy questions," Hermione admitted. "In fact, for a moment there I wasn't quite sure he was going to sign it. You know, he really isn't that bad of a Headmaster, as much as he gripes about it."

"Are you really all that surprised?" Jennifer asked with a smile as they walked down the stairs.

"Yes and no," Hermione said. "It depends on which part of the job you're talking about, really. I always knew he'd be great in a crisis, although this painting thing seems enough to put even him on edge."

"I think it's more what we don't know that's bothering him as far as that is concerned," Jennifer admitted with a sigh. "We don't even know if this is some sort of random accident or if someone's behind it all. It's not having a clear opponent is what's driving him up the wall. That and the fact that we haven't been able to stop it completely, only slow it down…although Severus' new plan with having a staging room has potential."

"True, but we'll still need to figure out how to restore the other ones," Hermione pointed out.

"Hopefully Pyther can come up with some ideas on that," Jennifer sighed.

A few minutes later, Jennifer made it back up to the Study, finding the door open on her way in and Severus at his desk hard at work. She gazed over at the wall to see Caprica was awake and smiling at her, giving Jennifer a friendly wink as a way of a greeting.

"There you are, and just what have you been up to this evening?" Severus asked casually, not looking up.

"This and that. I checked in with Pyther but he looked pretty exhausted…I think the back and forth is catching up with him. I helped him set up some more hooks and easels then suggested he go home for the night," Jennifer admitted.

"Yes, he seems as much as a loss on what's behind this as we are," Severus said thoughtfully, rubbing his head. "Probably getting away from the problem for awhile is the best thing. If only I could do the same."

"Oh, come now, Severus, I hardly think there's anything else left on this desk that needs to be done tonight," Jennifer said, picking through it until she got her hand slapped. "You've been working all weekend. Why don't you call it a night and come read or something," Jennifer said, looking at the empty candy dish. "And I'll have some sandwiches or something sent up."

"She's right, Severus, you look terrible, take a break," Caprica said.

"Nobody asked you," Severus snapped, scowling at the painting.

"Never stopped me before, did it?" the portrait laughed.

"I can't believe I woke her up," Severus grumbled. Jennifer only smiled at him and shook her head.

"Well, she isn't in the next room," Jennifer pointed out, opening the door to his sitting room. "Tea with your sandwiches? Or should I break out the wine?"

"I'd go for the wine," Caprica suggested, earning another dirty look from Severus.

"Good night, Caprica," Jennifer said almost warningly before heading inside, leaving the door partially open. Severus turned his attention back to the letter he was writing.

"So. Is that important?" Caprica asked. Severus sighed.

"You are going to make me regret this, aren't you? Paintings should be seen and not heard," Severus snapped at her.

"How very true," Caprica agreed. "And I probably would be quiet if you took a break. From everything you told me today, it's obvious you're under a bit of stress. Might do you some good to go play that hideous violin of yours or read or something like your wife suggested."

"The only reason you'd be quiet if I took a break is because I wouldn't be in the room for you to pester," Severus said irritably.

"Okay, you have a point," Caprica admitted. "What are you writing?"

"I am simply writing out some of the ideas I had for improvements on the potion lab before I forget, and I'd probably be done by now if you didn't keep breaking my train of thought."

"Sorry, Severus," Caprica said, watching him write for a minute. "Is that the last thing you have to do tonight?"

"It will be if only to get away from you," Severus growled at her.

"Sorry, I'll behave," Caprica said, then dutifully grew very quiet, glancing at her nails as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. She then began to inspect a smudge on the glass of her frame, but gave up once she realized the smudge was on the outside. Finally, Severus stopped writing and read over what he had so far, slipping it under a paperweight, lost in thought. As he got up, he remembered something he wanted to add and scribbled another line before finally going into the back room, closing the door behind himself. Caprica strained her ears and finally made out the sound of a violin.

"Finally, I thought he'd never leave," Caprica said then paused thoughtfully. "Do you know, I think he's getting better with that thing. Everyone awake? I need you to cover for me while I do a bit of snooping."

"You're leaving yourself open for trouble again, Dusthorn," Phineas warned her. "Snape would no more tolerate a rogue painting than I would have."

"I'm not going rogue on him. I promised to stay in the frame and that much I'll do," Caprica said. "Send word to the Trophy Room if he makes for the door. But I am not resting until I get the real dirt on this information."

"Go ahead, Caprica, the rest of us will cover for you at least," Edgar reassured her, some of the other Headmasters responding in kind.

"Then I'm away. See you in a bit," she said, the painting slowly fading from its hook. Phineas shook his head, settling back to sleep.

A moment later, the painting faded back into the Trophy Room above the door. She peered around the room before breaking into an impish grin.

"Hey, is the Terror of Gryffindor awake down there?" Caprica called out. Young Corey Willowby put down his cards and pushed his way to the edge of the frame.

"Present and accounted for Professor Dusthorn, ma'am!" he said, giving her a salute. "What are you doing awake?"

"Meddling," Caprica said.

"Well, duh, what else would she be doing?" Doug snorted.

"Is the painting of the painting of Professor O'Laren still in there?" she asked.

"Sure, he's still here," Corey shrugged.

"I don't suppose he can contact his other self?"

"No, Caprica," Bedivere said solemnly. "I'm afraid I'm the only one at the moment, and quite limited."

"It's all right, I'm just glad you're here in some capacity," Caprica said. "I was wondering, Corey, if you and the others can do me a favor."

"Sure, Professor, but I ought to warn ya, Dad told all us paintings not to leave the frame on pain of death and torture."

"Now how exactly do you think Professor Snape is going to torture a painting?" Doug inquired.

"If there is a way, I'm sure he'd find it," Corey said cheerfully. Danny and Taylor grinned at each other.

"Now, now, all I need you to do is find me some capable students. One's bound to get stuck dusting in here for detention."

"In other words, you want us to find some students to do you dirty work for you," Corey said.

"You mean like we did?" Essie said. The others chuckled.

"Exactly," Caprica said with a smile. "I'm sure I can trust your judgment on who you can snag."

"But it might be weeks before anyone thinks of sending a student detention here," Danny pointed out. "And it might be someone who deserves it."

"Danny, since when do the students who _really_ deserve it actually end up in detention, even in this day and age?" Doug asked.

"Well, sometimes students wander in from time to time, especially after sparring," Angela suggested.

"Why do I feel that the Headmaster is not going to approve?" the portrait of the ghost of Icarus said, shaking his head.

"Now don't you cause me any angst, Icarus. The Headmaster has enough on his mind without worrying about us," Caprica said. "Still, I'm not about to just sit here while this thing picks off my own kind one by one. So, are you with me, or not?"

"Aye!" they all said. Even the ghost of Dame Rachel, floating in the frame beside Icarus, gave a firm nod.

"Good," Caprica said with a grin. "Now, find me some rascals."

Far to the north, Alicia was having her own problems with paintings. Frustrated to no end with the countless canvases she had whitewashed so many times they were no longer usable, Alicia chucked half her collection out of the igloo and into a pile, setting it on fire with her wand.

Jacob watched the dramatic display with interest before rummaging in the kitchen and then walking out dragging a sled to sit on. He pulled it up, took something out of the bag he was carrying, and handed it Alicia, who was glowering at the fire next to him.

"Marshmallow?"

"You know ghost paint is toxic, right," Alicia said, but took the offering.

"I like to live on the edge," he said, handing her a stick and getting out the bag of marshmallow, candy bars, and crackers. He settled on the sled with his legs curled up and stuck his out near the fire. Sighing, Alicia joined him.

"Well, at least they were good for something," she said once she had eaten a few, burning them to a crisp before drawing them in. Jacob was still working on his first one; taking great pains not to catch his on fire.

"Practice is good for something, isn't it?" Jacob offered, gazing up at the twilit sky. Beautiful shades of red clung to the horizon from the sun marching just below it, while deep blue and purples blanketed the remainder.

"Not if I don't make progress, it still feels forced," Alicia sighed.

"Maybe you should just paint this, it's rather pretty now," Jacob commented.

"I could, but it's certainly not the same level of challenge," Alicia muttered.

"Yes, but you might be working too hard at it," Jacob suggested. "When's the last time you actually enjoyed just looking at it, like we did that first night of the season? I don't think it's something that can be painted if you can't enjoy it."

"Well, you probably have a point there," Alicia agreed, staring at the flames a moment before grabbing another marshmallow. Suddenly she felt something hit the back of her head, and she cried out more in surprise than in pain, her hand going to her head. Jacob looked around and picked something off the ground, then looked up at the sky. "What is it?"

"A note…must have been dropped off by a familiar. Thought I saw wings in the dark," Jacob said, glancing at it. "To the Artist of the Meteorological Wizard Research Center, South Polaris Town, Pacific-Yukon District. That would be you, I'd say."

"I can't imagine that description fitting anyone else," Alicia agreed wryly, opening it. She read it once in the firelight, thinking about it puzzled, then noticed Jacob watching her intently and handed it over.

_Light cannot exist without darkness._

_Do not uncover it; discover it._

_An old Inuit once taught me how,_

_And I will pass it onto you now. _

_It exists within the darkest night_

_Look within to find the light._

"Well, it may not be signed, but I'm quite sure this is probably from that old artist in town who did the Aurora Borealis in that Christmas shop," Jacob said. "He's rather a bit of a poet too, isn't he?"

"Yes, and it's a vague as the Sorting Hat at my old school," Alicia said with irritation.

"I wish we could have had a Sorting Hat at Whitebridge," Jacob said wistfully. "Wouldn't that have been fun?"

"Personally, I found the experience terrifying," Alicia admitted, getting an amused grin from Jacob in response. "Hm, 'don't uncover it, discover it, look within to find the light.' I wonder if he's trying to tell me I need to _feel_ the moment rather than look at it as a part of the scenery."

"He keeps talking about the darkness," Jacob added. "First about needing to know it better, then saying the light can't exist without it. I still think there's something to that too."

"I already go out there as early as I dare to paint the beginning of it though," Alicia said, and then grew quiet for a moment, nibbling on a piece of chocolate. "This all reminds me of what got me started on this project to begin with."

"What was that?" Jacob asked curiously, handing her a graham cracker.

"I was inflicted with a blind curse for awhile," Alicia said, Jacob staring at her in horror.

"What? Who would do such a thing to an artist?" Jacob demanded.

"Oh, it's a Snape thing, really, someone's always cursing my family with one thing or another," Alicia said, waving it off. "Not that it isn't already a curse just being a Snape. But, after that happened, I really didn't feel like doing portraits anymore. I just wanted to see the sun again, and the ocean, and the world in general. So, I took a leave of taking the odd commission and decided to take some time off just to enjoy the scenery, with no emotions attached to mess it up."

"And yet here we are with scenery that can't seem to be painted unless emotions are attached somehow," Jacob mused.

"Perhaps that's exactly why I'm having so much trouble," Alicia said. "I'm not really sure I want to get 'in touch' with my emotions right now. They've gotten so…so complicated since I've gotten out of school."

"Yes, well, welcome to adulthood," Jacob chuckled at her. "Hey, the fire's going out, we should go in. It's probably thirty-five below by now. I have readings to take, and I think you have canvas to stretch."

"At this rate I'm going to need to head to town for a new roll," Alicia chuckled, helping him clean up before the two of them walked back inside.

Clinging to a rod on the underside of the telescope, a small bat watched them disappear into the igloo before taking flight and turning back towards Polaris Town.


	14. Weekend Diversions

_A/N Reworked this chapter a bit; some slight changes. Lucky has had some limited exposure to sparring before this point; this was really supposed to be about her discomforts about growing up ultimately, so wanted to make sure it reflected that better. JCWriter _

Chapter Fourteen

Weekend Diversions

As much as Lucky hated being 'volunteered' for anything, Lucky had so much back homework to do by the time the next Friday rolled around that she was glad for a valid excuse not to work on it. Five books stacked one on the other and a backpack full of scrolls in arm as she trudged the stairs, she was glad when she finally got to the painting of the Fat Lady.

"If at first you don't succeed, try following the rules," Lucky declared. With a subtle smirk, the Fat Lady let her pass. Lucky shook her head as she entered, muttering under her breath not for the first time about the 'stupid' password, and lugged the stuff up to her room, depositing them on top of her footlocker. As she stood rubbing her arms, she heard her name called and peered out to see Tim at the bottom of the steps.

"Professor Craw wanted me to remind you about sparring tonight," called up.

"I know, I know! I'll be up there after dinner," Lucky said, scowling over someone else being asked to remind her in the first place.

"You might want to go ahead and change out of your robes anyhow, you won't want to do forms in that," he suggested. "Nobody's likely to say anything at dinner about it."

Lucky went back inside and changed, hurrying down to catch up with her other housemates for dinner. It made her feel a better when quite a number of them including all the Weasleys at the table had changed to simple t-shirts and pants as well.

"It feels wrong participating in any activities considering how far behind I am," Connie admitted, picking at her meal.

"It's not just you. I don't know any single student that's keeping up with it," Reggie said. "It's insane, really. I hope they don't expect us to have decent marks in order to attend the Spectral Ball this year, or the only people going _will_ be the ghosts."

"They'd better not, I already promised Sir Nicholas," Kay said.

"What? I'm surprised you're not going with Terrence," Tim said coyly.

"You know as well as I do it's practically tradition now for Nick to ask the girl prefect of Gryffindor to go. Besides it's an honor to go with a ghost, really, I can get a date anytime."

"Yeah, sure you could," Reggie snickered. Kay leaned over and whacked him on the back of the head.

"I don't see you with a date yet," Kay said.

"Give me time, give me time," Reggie said smoothly. "Maybe there'll be some likely girls to scope tonight at sparring."

"More than likely it'll mostly be boys like always," Tim said, turning around to look at some of the other tables. "Looks like Lena might be going, Connie."

"Too bad they don't mix years in the ring thing, I'd rather like to flatten her," Connie said. Lucky shook her head but didn't say anything.

"You're still mad at her?" Tim tsked.

"Aren't you?" Reggie challenged him.

"She's still family, after all," Tim said. "Although it's weird I haven't heard so much as a hello from her in the hall since she's been here. She talks to you though, doesn't she Lucky?"

"Sure, she studies with us a lot," Lucky said. "An' I think you guys should stop acting like jerks and treat her better than that. She don't need it from both sides."

"You just don't understand," Connie sighed at her.

"No, _chica_, you're the one that's not understanding this time," Lucky said, getting up. "She may be your sister, but she's my friend, and if you try to flatten her, I'm flattening you, and I won't need a wand to do it."

"That tough girl attitude doesn't work with me, anymore, Lucky Snape," Connie warned her. "You even think of laying a hand on me, I'll go straight to Craw about it, then we'll see who's so tough."

"Fine," Lucky said with a dangerous smile. "Just don't e'spect to make it there with all your teeth." Connie's face grew red as Lucky walked out of the hall.

"The nerve of her! Tim, why didn't you deduct points or something?"

"First off, it's not your place to say, Constance, and second, she wasn't the only one jawing a moment ago. In fact, you've been doing quite a lot of it since we got here, and I really think you ought to cool it," Tim said. "Especially tonight. You go in a ring like that and Craw will have you benched in no time."

"We'll see about that," Connie said, then quickly finished her meal.

Ambrose ran into the small gym room not long after Lucky came in. She was warily looking at the hands sticking out of the wall, debating whether or not to put her wand in.

"Hiya Lucky! Gosh, you eat fast!" he said, surrendering his wand. Reluctantly, Lucky did the same. "I hope you don't mind, I won't be able to meet at the library until after lunch tomorrow. Professor Scribe found out I couldn't do Quidditch and cornered me about joining the choir."

"You?" Lucky said in disbelief.

"Well, she needed more sopranos," Ambrose explained. "I don't suppose you sing?"

"Me? Gimme a break, Bill! What, they only got pansies in the choir,_perdedores grandes. _You really wanna be seen with them?"

"It's not_that_ bad," Ambrose said uncomfortably. "Dale Chance is even in the choir."

"You just made my point for me, _chico,_" Lucky smirked, walking over to where Professor Andrew was handing out practice wands. "I thought you wanted to work on that history book project of yours."

"I have to do my real history assignment first," Ambrose admitted in a low voice, taking a wand.

"All right, everyone, let's line up for sparring forms!" Jennifer called from the front, giving them all a warm smile. "Seventh years in the front, then sixth and so on, first years in the back with Professor Andrew." There were only a small handful of first years, so Lucky found herself lined up next to Helena, who grinned at her quite grateful the two of them were there. The Coventry boys were both next to her, but they didn't pay attention to Lucky. Instead they were both eyeing Ambrose with frowns. On the other side of Ambrose, Connie was busy eyeing her sister. Lucky sighed, realizing it was probably going to be a long night. She turned around to see that, after a bit of jostling, Dale was right in front of her, with Laura and Lindsay glaring at him for having been nudged to make room. Dale turned around and winked at Lucky.

"Is there any club you aren't in?" Lucky asked him.

"Yeah, I had to drop journalism. Homework, you know," Dale explained. Laura jabbed him in the ribs to get him to turn around.

"All right, everyone," Jennifer said, trying to get their attention. "Since it's the first of the year we'll do a couple basic forms together, then the first years and first time members will go with Professor Andrew and we'll continue with something a bit more challenging. Stances for a basic box defense, come on, enough chatter, you'll have time for that later."

Lucky really wished they could skip that part and head on to the sparring ring, feeling quite awkward as she attempted to keep up with those in front of her. Things got a bit confusing after that for Lucky as she immediately lost track of what they were doing, and soon felt a pair of hands on her.

"Relax, Lucky, you seem to be over-correcting yourself," Andrew murmured to her, gently facing her in the direction of the other first and second years. "Don't try to keep up with the upper years, watch what we're doing back here."

Andrew moved on to Helena then, who grinned at him nervously. Lucky sighed, wishing they could just get to the fun part as everyone turned in the opposite direction and she copied them. It was then with some annoyance that she realized on the other side of her, Ambrose was having no trouble keeping up, careening his neck to try and see Jennifer while keeping up with their movements. Apparently, Andrew noticed it as well, for soon he was shifted closer to the front while Andrew worked with the newer students.

Jennifer gave Andrew a cursory glance and asked everyone to repeat it, a few soft moans heard through the other students.

Lucky, although she found she could copy the other younger students now, felt extremely conscientious about how awkward it felt. In fact, she didn't remember feeling quite so unsure about her physical condition during football over the summer; something was different about her now, and it wasn't only the style that was unfamiliar to her. As they turned around to finish the box, Lucky got a good look at herself in one of the wall mirrors and stopped short.

"Something wrong, Lucky?" Andrew asked softly.

"I don't wanna do this anymore. It's stupid," Lucky declared. "We all look like a buncha wusses, or somethin'."

"Don't worry about how it looks, you'll improve," Andrew murmured. "You'll be glad of them later on."

"Not likely,_Mano,_" Lucky said flatly. "I don't see what this has to do with sparring, an' I'm not doin' this ballet de la Karate Kid stuff."

"Problem, Professor Andrew?"

Lucky looked up to see everyone was looking back curiously at her now, and Jennifer had a hand on her hip and an extremely disapproving look on her face.

"I've got it, continue, Professor Craw," Andrew said with a smile but yanked Lucky away from the lineup and pulled her to the corner. "Look, Lucky, I know this isn't easy the first few years. In fact, we probably should have made more time to work on this over the summer," he admitted in a low voice, glancing back to see that Jennifer had sent a couple of the seventh years to the back to watch the others. "But you have got to learn it. This isn't something you're going to be able to opt out of."

"What? It's a stupid club, I don't have to be here…"

"Yes, you do," Andrew said firmly. "It may be an elective for some of the students here, but you cannot afford that luxury. You're a Snape now, and you must learn to defend yourself."

"I can already defend myself," Lucky snorted. "Why can't we just go right to sparring and forget this dumb block and stance stuff? I don't have to do some sissy dance to pull out a wand! There ain't no way I'm going to humiliate myself doing that crap, it's degrading! I worked too hard to create an image to stoop to that sorta lame ass shit."

"Sit in the corner," Andrew said, standing up straight when she sat down and folded her arms stubbornly. He was still attempting to figure out how to further handle the matter when he saw movement and did a double take when Severus strode in.

Jennifer was so surprised she forgot where she was in the routine, and cleared her throat, asking them to take their stances before turning her attention to Severus.

"Yes, Headmaster?" Jennifer asked, her expression changing even before he spoke.

"Might I borrow your club and some of your students for a moment? It won't take long, I have a meeting tonight."

"Of course, go right ahead," Jennifer said with a curled lip.

Severus glanced over the seventh year students with a speculative frown before he began pointing a few out and motioning them to step to the other side near where Andrew was watching intently and Lucky with open wariness. After a moment he made eye contact with Andrew who immediately walked over and stood with the group. After one more quick word with Jennifer, Severus had them line up in offensive stances while Jennifer arranged the rest of the students so they could see.

All at once the group began to move, falling back on their right heel with some silent signal that Lucky had failed to see, turning together almost completely synchronous to each other. Even in his dress robes, no one could mistake Severus' catlike grace and flowing movements, and Lucky couldn't help but be reluctantly impressed at his completing some of the more complex turns not having really dressed for the occasion. At one point the rhythm seemed to slow ever so slightly when even Andrew seemed a step off the pace, but the Headmaster seemed to sense it and corrected it, the group turning fluid once more.

On the back wall, some of the younger students nudged each other and grinned at Professor Craw, who was leaning against one of the mirrored walls with a wistful, dreamy smile on her face, while most of the sixth and seventh year students watched with careful and critical eyes. At last a complex spin and kneel finished the set, and the club broke into a loud roar of applause, Jennifer immediately joining in.

"Five points to the students who helped in the demonstration, Professor Craw," Severus said, adjusting his robes.

"Absolutely! Thank you for the demonstration, Headmaster," Jennifer said, walking back to her position.

"Quite all right. Demonstration is over; back to your positions now. _All of you,"_ he added, his eyes flicking over at Lucky. Reluctantly Lucky stood and found her place in the back line, well aware that Severus was still watching when Jennifer suggested they try the basic box defense again. Over halfway through, Severus slipped out the door, and Jennifer couldn't help share a private grin with Andrew before they broke into groups for sparring. Neither was surprised when Lucky dropped her wand less than ten seconds after entering the ring.

Lucky still felt a slight twinge in her back and a bruised pride when she settled at a table in the library the next day, hatching dark thoughts in her mind about how delightful it would be to see the gym blown up as well. She took care of her Arithmantics first, then set it aside for Potions. Now that it was mostly formulas, she was actually doing better than she had the year before so was a bit disappointed to find out they were going to have a frustratingly safe lab that week.

It was as she was finishing the first page that Helena arrived, looking unusually troubled as she sat down with her heavy Transfiguration book and folded her arms on it, leaning her head down on them.

"I heard there's this talent where you can put a book under your pillow at night, and wake up the next morning and you remember reading it," Lucky said casually. Helena grinned.

"I could use that talent right about now," Helena said, sitting up. "Where's Ambrose?"

"Choir," Lucky said, rolling her eyes. "He keeps that stuff up he's never gonna get his homework done."

"He's got to be doing better than I am," Helena sighed. "I swear, Lucky, I was half tempted to turn in my books for copying this weekend."

"What would you wanna do that for, when you're showin' em up in class doin' your own," Lucky asked.

"I'm under a lot of pressure," Helena said carefully.

"You want pressure? Try growing up in New York," Lucky said with a grin, starting on the next page. "They have something on you, or something?"

"Not exactly," Helena said. "Actually…actually, I'm a little worried about Ambrose," she admitted. Lucky looked up from her work with a frown. "They keep asking a lot of nosy questions and they're not too satisfied about me not knowing the answers to them."

"Like what?" Lucky frowned.

"Well, mostly they've been asking about how he snuck in last year," Helena admitted. "See, they think he had, well, staff help getting in, and that the board knows he probably did, only they can't prove it…"

"Hold it, hold it! You tell anybody about this? I mean like, staff?" Lucky asked.

"No, of course not! Are you crazy?" Helena hissed. "Slytherin don't rat on other Slytherin, Lucky."

"Well, if I were you, I'd go to somebody, Madame Brittle maybe, because it ain't their place to be accusing staff of anything," Lucky said.

"That's the thing, they aren't exactly…they want me to find out and prove it one way or the other," Helena whispered. Lucky stared at her.

"Well, tell them where to stuff it then. Or tell them the truth, that Ambrose don't talk about it," Lucky said.

"I did," Helena said. "But they still keep pestering me about it. They know we study together. Do you think he's covering for someone, Lucky?"

"It doesn't matter what I think," Lucky shrugged. "What matters is what you wanna do about this."

"Well, what would you do?" Helena asked. Lucky thought about it.

"I'd go to Professor Snape," Lucky admitted.

"Easy for you to say, he's relation for you," Helena muttered.

"You could go to Weasley, then."

"I can't, she's a Gryffindor!" Helena said. Lucky stared at her. Helena looked glum.

"Wanna switch houses?" Helena asked dryly.

"Let's see, Slytherin don't tell on Slytherin, so I could go over there and pummel them into the ground without them able to tell on me? It's got potential," Lucky admitted. Helena couldn't help but grin at that, chuckling softly and shaking her head.

"That would be fine until they pulled a wand, then what would you do?" Helena asked.

"Hey, that match last night was just a fluke. I wasn't ready," Lucky said defensively. Helena looked at her dubiously. "Look, whatever Bill did to get in last year, it's none of our business, and it's even less their business, since they're not even friends. Besides, we got more important things to worry about, like if it's possible to get through this year without failing every class."

"I think I'm passing Charms and Defense," Helena said brightly.

"I'm decent in Potions and Arithmantics," Lucky nodded. "Can't speak much for the others, though."

"Yeah, me either," Helena admitted. "I predict we're going to have one rough Christmas if this keeps up."

"Right, true," Lucky agreed.

"Hey, guys! Sorry I'm late," Ambrose said, hopping into the seat beside them and putting _Hogwarts, a History_ down with a thud. "I went to talk to Janus Craw after practice about the book…"

"Shouldn't you be working on your actual homework, Bill?" Lucky frowned at him.

"Don't worry, I still have tomorrow to finish that," Ambrose reassured her.

"Your choice, it's your marks," Lucky shrugged.

"Anyhow, you didn't let me finish," Ambrose said impatiently, sitting down and leaning over the table. "I was telling him about having trouble researching some of the facts past when the Sentinels were alive, and I asked which ghost to go to next. And guess what? I got one better!" he said smugly. "Did you know there was a vampire in the castle?" Helena looked up with interest, while Lucky looked at him dubiously. "He comes in after dusk every night, apparently Uncle Snape called him in as a painting's expert."

"Francis Pyther," Helena said with a nod. "Very famous wizard painter. There's a couple of his in the Burrow that he gave my grandparents as gifts."

"Just what kind of vampire are we talkin' about here?" Lucky asked. Ambrose sighed at her with exasperation.

"What do you mean what kind?" he asked. "A vampire, vampire. Anyhow, he's about six hundred and he's painted a lot of the paintings in the school since then, so I can ask him about the stuff in here that doesn't sit right with me and see if I can find out the truth behind it. Janus is going to try and arrange for me to meet him tonight. You guys wanna go?"

"I can't afford to go anywhere until I have this homework done," Helena said somberly. "Besides, won't you get in trouble?"

"I won't stay out past curfew or anything, and it's for a school project…"

"It isn't. This is something you took on yourself to do. I bet you don't have a single professor that knows about it," Helena said knowingly.

"Well…Professor Scribe knows, sort of. At least…she did comment on me about marking up my book and I told her it was for research," Ambrose admitted. "And she said she'd be interested in seeing whatever it was I was researching that I felt the need to mark up my book for, so you see, I'm practically almost duty bound to finish it now."

"That's some logic you have there, _chico_," Lucky said expressionlessly.

"So are you going?"

"Somebody's gotta go and keep you out of trouble," Lucky decided.

"You're going to end up losing your houses more points," Helena warned them.

"What do we care? Our house aren't behind us any more than yours is behind you," Lucky said.

"We'll go right after dinner," Ambrose grinned. "I need to go pull out some research material for the years I'm missing."

"So how just how many classes are you failing because of this project of yours?" Helena frowned at him scolding. Ambrose looked at her in confusion.

"I wouldn't fail a class for anything," Ambrose said. "Are you kidding? My Mum would kill me!" Lucky and Helena gazed at each other thoughtfully as he got up, then suddenly had a renewed interest in finishing their work.

Before they knew it, it was dinner time, and without so much as a passing remark in the conversations of the Gryffindors around her, Lucky piled her food together in her normal fashion and got out of there as quickly as possible, a bit surprised when Helena came out a few minutes later.

"Thought you weren't going?" Lucky asked, and Helena simply shrugged.

"Changed my mind," she said.

"This don't have anything to do with what we talked about today, does it?" Lucky frowned. Helena shook her head. Just then, Ambrose came out, grinning at them when he saw them standing there, a book bag over his shoulder. "So, where we goin', Bill?"

"Not sure yet, Janus said to meet him in the stairwell," Ambrose said, and Lucky gestured for him to lead on.

"I've never met a vampire before," Helena admitted in a low voice. "You?"

"Nah, but I've seen a lot a people who've wanted to be, back home," Lucky admitted.

"Why would anybody want to be?" Helena asked curiously. Lucky shrugged at her.

"I think it's cool," Ambrose said with a grin. Helena and Lucky looked at each other ruefully.

"Why are we following an eight year old again?" Helena sighed.

"'Cuz he's the one who knows where the bloodsucker is," Lucky reminded her. "Anyone bring any garlic?"

"Oh, Lucky, I'm pretty sure that's just a Muggle tale," Helena chided her.

"Then how come I never heard of an Italian vampire?" Lucky asked. She got hushed then as they approached the stairwell and Ambrose cautiously went up a few steps. He must have seen something then, because he started taking the stairs faster after that, the two girls following close behind.

Finally they saw the incorporeal form of Janus Craw standing on one of the landings, scrutinizing the girls with his arms folded.

"They helping you with this project too?" he asked Ambrose suspiciously.

"Nah, they just were wondering what a real vampire looks like," Ambrose grinned.

"And after you meet him, you'll still be wondering," Janus said flatly. "Follow."

Eagerly Ambrose did as he was told with Helena and Lucky walking a bit more cautious towards the rear. They entered a narrow corridor, and Lucky wondered if they weren't somewhere near some of the staffs private rooms. Suddenly, Janus turned and walked through a pair of metal reinforced doors and left the three of them staring at it.

"Hope he didn't expect us to do that," Helena said. But a moment later they heard a clang and one of the doors opened, and the three of them saw a slender, dark-haired man with skin so pale it was almost grey, blinking in surprise.

"You wanted to see me?" Francis asked, glancing over each one before his eyes settled on Ambrose. "You seem a bit young to be a student…"  
"Ambrose Bailey sir," Ambrose said with a warm smile and holding out his hand. Francis Pyther's eyes widened and he opened the door for them.

"I'm so sorry! Nobody told me you had been admitted to Hogwarts already! Please come in," Francis said, opening the door wide. "You are the student doing the research on discrepancies on _Hogwarts, a History?_"

"That's me," Ambrose agreed. "And these are my friends, Lena and Lucky."

"Mr. Francis Pyther," he said cordially, showing them in. Lucky only took a few steps in before she started gazing at all the paintings in the room, realizing as she gawked at them that quite a few were gawking back at her.

"_Miercoles!"_ Lucky murmured in awe. "So this is where all the missing paintings have gone?"

"No, no, just some we're simply attempting to protect from the painting sickness," Francis explained briefly.

"Ya, the whole thing reminds me of like a computer virus or somethin'," Lucky admitted.

"What's that?" Helena asked her.

"Well…it could be a lot of things, really," Lucky said, not quite sure she could explain. "Some are made to breach a system, some are made to shut it down or steal information, or sometimes it's caused by bad code or a glitch. Who knows?"

"Considering I don't even know what you're talking about, who knows is a good question," Helena agreed.

"Tell me more about this project of yours, Ambrose," Francis said.

"Well, it started pretty much on the first day of school, when we were reading the back history on the founders and their apprentices," Ambrose explained, handing him the book and his notes so far. Francis pulled up a stool and sat down to look at it. "It confused me, because I've heard Corey and his friends talking about the Sentinels and some of the stuff they did when they were in school, and none of it seemed to match. Not to mention as far as this book is concerned, the Chamber of Secrets is just a legend!"

"Yes, most of this book was written some time before all of that came out," Francis admitted, glancing over all the marked pages. "Years of research went to making this, you know…most of these stories were spread out in tomes and tomes of material, it was quite an astounding compilation."

"I agree, it is amazing," Ambrose agreed. Lucky gave them a look indicating she was less than impressed. "But all they did for this edition was stick in an afterward of the last thirty years, and didn't fix anything! And even the last thirty years has stuff in it I'm not sure is quite right either. Anyhow, it drives me absolutely batty taking tests and knowing I have to answer wrong on some of this stuff…er, no offense…"

"None taken," Francis said, picking through the book with amusement.

"So do you want to know where you're at?" Ambrose asked.

"I'm in here?" Francis said with surprise. "I didn't know she had put me in."

"Sure, I have it marked, it's in one of the appendixes under 'famous alumni during the Renaissance period,'" Ambrose said, flipping back to the appendix and thumbing through several pages of it until he pointed to one of the entries. "'Francis Marion Pyther, 1452-1475 - present, Son of Michael Marion Pyther (wizard painter) and Matilda Bertran Pyther (witch philosopher.) House: Hufflepuff. Classical artist, best known for his works in oil within Hogwarts itself. Vampiric, currently lives in Hogsmeade.' Well, for one thing, we do know you don't live in Hogsmeade anymore," Ambrose mused, adding another chalk mark to the entry.

"Well, if you are going to get that specific, Ambrose, had I any say in the matter I would have it specify that I simply graduated from Hufflepuff," Francis said. "But I was sorted into Gryffindor." All three of them stared at him in surprise.

"You were sorted into another house?" Helena said. "But how did you end up a Hufflepuff then?"

"Well, I rather didn't get along with my house, you see, and it got to the point…to make a long story short," Francis said, thinking back a moment as he handed Ambrose back the book. "I was easily startled as a boy, and back then, Gryffindors tended to be…well, brutes, actually," Francis admitted. "Sons of knights and that sort of thing, with codes of honor that best suited their temperament, using it as an excuse to pick fights. Back then, dueling often involved being mounted on a flying mount, and if you ask me, Quidditch is tame compared to some of the goings on back then. No one was really quite sure what I was doing there, a poor son of struggling painter of no noble birth who fainted at the sheer sight of blood. Headmaster Muldoon thought it was perhaps a sign of the changing times and simply accepted it at face value, but I'm afraid the intellectual revolution the Professor so plainly saw coming was one the Gryffindors of that day and age planned to fight, and I quickly found myself the target." Francis frowned a moment, shaking his head. "Actually, I'd rather not get into just how bad it got. Other houses called me the 'Fulbert of Gryffindor,' which was most decidedly uncomplimentary. The Professors all kept telling me to make the best of it, until one day they caught me unawares in the hall and charmed my shadow, turning it into a slathering monster. In terror I ran from it, forgetting how easy it would have been for me just to step in a closet or something and get rid of it…I was afraid of the dark back then as well," he admitted bitterly. "I let the thing chase me all the way up the Astrology Tower…and right off the edge of it. Had their not been an animagus professor who could turn into a roc nearby at the time, I'd have died for sure."

"A roc?" Lucky asked.

"Giant sort of eagle, they're extinct now," Helena explained.

"Anyhow, that was the final straw for old Muldoon, and he moved me to Hufflepuff the moment he heard the whole story of what happened. I was a lot happier there," Francis admitted. "But I've never forgotten the utter disappointment in Muldoon's face when he had to move me. I'm not really even sure whether it was directed at me personally or Gryffindor house, but it's one of those moments in my life where I wondered what things would have been like had I stayed. Perhaps I would have developed some mettle, and not blundered into that pack of vampires when I was touring Europe to learn painting techniques."

"Yeah, but then that'd mean you'd be dead from old age centuries ago, though," Ambrose said, "and then I wouldn't be here hoping you'll help me with this!"

"Very well, Ambrose, so long as it's all right with the Headmaster and it doesn't interfere with your other studies," Pyther said. Ambrose grimaced.

"I have to get permission from the Headmaster?" Ambrose asked.

"Ambrose, I'm willing to help, but I'm certainly not sticking my neck out for it," Pyther said.

"Vampire sticking his neck out for it. Funny," Lucky said. Helena rolled her eyes.

"I may even be able to suggest some ghosts to go over the three hundred years you don't have covered," Pyther mused, glancing towards the wall. "Or even a painting or two."

"Did you paint many of the ones in here?" Helena asked.

"Oh, quite a few of them," Francis admitted with a smile.

"I like these pictures of Jackie and the Professor," Lucky said with a grin. "They act a lot like they do at home sometimes when they think nobody's watchin'."

"Jackie?" Francis asked.

"Sorry, Professor Craw, I meant," Lucky said. Francis frowned at her in confusion. "I still call her Jackie at home because that's the name I knew her by in New York before they took me in."

"You're Fortuna Snape?" Francis asked in alarm.

"Call me Lucky! Nobody calls me that but the Professor," Lucky said defensively.

"Well, it was nice meeting all of you children, so sorry you have to rush off," Francis said abruptly, getting up and quickly nudging them towards the door. "Very nice of you to call, but I really have a lot to do here, you know, school business and all that. Don't forget to get permission next time, Ambrose, and um…come alone," he added as he shoved them out the door and shut it. The three of them stared at the door, hearing the clang of a lock behind them.

"What in the blazes was all of that about?" Helena asked. Lucky sniffed at herself experimentally, then shrugged. "Are all vampires that weird?"

"You know, I almost forgot he was supposed to be a vampire," Lucky said. "He's just so…artistic," she said, not being able to come up with an English word that fit what she wanted to say.

"Never mind that, how am I going to get permission from Snape to work on this?" Ambrose asked. "Lucky, do you think…"  
"Oh, no, I'm not gonna do your con job for you," Lucky said. "If I were you, I'd go to Scribe first with what you got so far and hope she thinks its worth doing, cuz he ain't gonna listen unless it's some sort of official project."

"I can't see him letting you do it if you run behind on your homework either," Helena put in as they walked down the corridor. "But honestly, I don't think you can keep up with it, not for very long. Maybe you should just hold off on it."

"No, that'd just drive me nuts," Ambrose said.

"I think you're almost there already," Helena teased. "All right, Ambrose. But maybe we should clean up your notes and things…maybe if she sees what you have so far, she'll be more open to the idea."

"Great, let's get to work on it tomorrow then," Ambrose said, sounding a bit more hopeful. Lucky sighed and followed them down the stairs, more certain than ever she wasn't going to get her homework done by the time the weekend was over.


	15. Labors of Love

Chapter Fifteen

Labors of Love

Lucky and Helena did their best to help Ambrose sort his notes, but when Lucky realized she was starting to get confused on which history was the one she was supposed to be studying she had to step away from it, trying to concentrate on keeping up with the rigorous schedule they were on. Helena helped as much as she could on Sunday, but when a new wave of homework came out on Monday, there was no way she could keep up. Still, their inputs had helped enough for Ambrose to get organized, and by Wednesday morning was ready for his appointment in Professor Scribe's office for breakfast.

"Extraordinary," Sally Scribe said after she had read through it twice, offering him another marmalade roll. "Did you honestly write this yourself?"

"Well, not all by myself," Ambrose said protested. "Lena helped me organize and edit it, and Lucky told me to add the source notes…"

"Actually, that's the only part that could be better. For this sort of research you really need to be very careful to site all your sources, but then again, one is not expected to know how to do such things at your age, or your year for that matter…"

"I don't suppose you could teach me how?" Ambrose said with a grin. Sally was looking the notes over and drumming her fingers on the table thoughtfully before turning to look at him.

"What are your marks like in your other subjects, Mr. Bailey?"

"Fine," Ambrose said. "I think."

"Well, if you expect me to support this at all, I'm going to need more than 'I think,'" Sally said sternly, getting up. "I'm going to borrow this, if you don't mind, while I make some inquiries on your behalf. I hope you know you are expected to know the book's version of history on your test tomorrow."

"I've been working on it since school started, and I haven't failed one yet, even if I haven't agreed with it," Ambrose said defensively.

"I do admit you have," Sally said thoughtfully. "Well, I still don't condone your practically destroying your book for this, but I can see why you would have been tempted. Why don't you run along to your first class, we'll talk about this later, Mr. Bailey."

"Yes, Professor Scribe," Ambrose said with a grin, walking out before he had a chance to see her look of pure wonder when she turned to read over his paper again. Lingering in the hall not too far away, Helena and Lucky both looked up as he ran down the hall to them with a grin.

"Well?" Lucky asked impatiently.

"I think she liked it," Ambrose said smugly. "But she doesn't want me to work on it unless my other marks are up."

"See? I told you not to neglect your other homework over this," Helena scolded him.

"Well, maybe I have been a little, but I won't anymore," Ambrose promised as they walked towards the other classrooms. "I'm going to have to be near the top of most of my classes before Snape would give his permission on anything. I wonder why Mr. Pyther was so insistent, though? I mean, why should it matter if it's on my own time and all?"

"Mr. Pyther is not here to help you with some silly history report, he's here to figure out what's wrong with the paintings," Helena said. "All the staff seems to be pretty concerned about it. I've noticed them all pausing in the stairwell and just staring at the walls sometimes."

"Yeah, I've seen them do that too," Lucky agreed.

"I wonder what would cause such a thing?" Ambrose murmured, then glanced at Lucky. "Hey, remember that crystal in the staff research room?"

"Before you say another word, I am not helping you break in again, _chico,"_Lucky said firmly. "You heard what the Professor said when he found out how we got in the last time. It'll be my life on the line if he catches me opening a locked door like that again."

"Unlocking a door like what?" asked Helena, curious.

"She can unlock anything," Ambrose said.

"It's a number thing," Lucky shrugged.

"Is that how Ambrose got his fake name in the book?" Helena asked. Ambrose stopped short and stared at her.

"What book?" Lucky asked.

"The Coventry twins said there's a big book of names in Professor Weasley's office that lists the names of students to be invited to go to school here," Helena said. "The names magically appear on their own if a child is gifted enough to attend."

"I bet I wasn't in the book," Lucky snorted.

"No, probably not, but the Headmaster can add students in special circumstances, and you were from another country, after all," Helena said. "But what I don't understand is how anyone could get a fake name past both the book and the staff."

"What are you saying, Lena? Are you taking sides with Don and Mike now? I thought you were my friend," Ambrose said angrily.

"No, I'm not on their side, but they're asking a lot of questions like that, and it's got me worried. Can't you guys at least be up front with me so I know exactly what I'm supposed to be covering here?" Helena asked, looking around nervously to see who was around. Lucky found herself doing the same thing.

"Look, I didn't meet Bill until I got on the train, okay? The rest is his business. 'Sides, we don't have time to talk about it now and it definitely ain't the place," Lucky said, glancing at Ambrose, who seemed torn. "You better get to class."

"Fine," Helena said with a sigh, waving to them before walking away.

"Those Coventry boys are being a real pain in my backside, and I haven't even spoke two words to them all year," Ambrose said irritably. "She's not the only Slytherin that's suddenly asking me all sorts of nosy questions."

"Just ignore it, _chico_, they can't do anything if you don't say anything," Lucky reminded him. "Come on, I'll walk ya to Charms."

"Hey, Lucky!" She turned around to see Dale hurrying over to them from the main corridor, asking Lindsay and Laura to wait a minute for him. "Can I talk to you a minute?"

"Sure," Lucky shrugged. Dale glanced at Ambrose.

"I'll see you after lunch, Lucky," Ambrose said with a smile, walking down another direction.

"So?" Lucky asked impatiently.

"I was just wondering if you thought about who you were going to the Ghost Ball with this year," he asked.

"Yeah, I'm going with Ambrose," she said evenly.

"Oh, well, I suppose someone has to keep an eye on him, huh?" Dale reasoned. "All right, Lucky. If you change your mind, I'll be next in line," he said with an enigmatic smile. He turned around and started humming as he went to catch up with the other two girls, leaving Lucky looking confused. Shrugging it off, she headed for Transfiguration.

"Why do you even bother with her, Dale?" Lindsay sighed at him as they walked towards Defense. "She's obviously not interested."

"I think he just likes the challenge," Laura decided, gazing at her knowingly. "Nearly any other girl I know would give a right arm for you to ask, and they are at least in your year."

"And many a lot prettier," Lindsay agreed.

"Hey, that is entirely your personal opinion," Dale said emphatically.

"How about closer to your height, then?" Laura suggested.

"What she lacks in height she makes up for in fire," Dale grinned, turning into the classroom.

"Yes, and if the Headmaster sees the way you've been carrying on over her, you're likely to get roasted," Lindsay warned, sitting down beside him towards the front while Laura sat behind Dale. Immediately, Dale turned around talk to his best friend, Bobby March, who sat next to Laura, and the two girls looked at each other and shook their heads as once again they jawed on, oblivious to the girls even being there.

"Well, at least she didn't turn me down for a _real_ date," Dale reasoned.

"She turned you down to babysit. How is that better?" Bobby chuckled at him.

"Oh, come on, they've been good friends since last year," Dale said.

"Maybe she just likes younger men," Bobby joked, and Dale slapped him over the table despite Laura and Lindsay's protests.

"All right, class, settle down," a man's voice said from the doorway. The students looked over in surprise to see a slender man with greying hair and a scarred face. He seemed tired enough to warrant several pots of coffee, but his smile was warm even as he trudged to the front of the class.

"Isn't that your father, Laura?" Bobby whispered to her.

"Professor Craw said he might be substituting sometime, but I didn't know it was today," Laura whispered, visibly paling as she reached in her book, knowing they had read the section on vampires as homework. Even then she knew that wasn't likely what they were going to be discussing. She knew what the next chapter was.

"My name is Professor Lupin, as you may have guessed, I'll be filling in for Professor Tonks today," he said, searching around for a piece of chalk that wasn't too badly broken. "Because of my expertise in certain subjects, I've been requested to give a lecture on something you were going to cover next week…I'll still be taking up your homework on vampires, of course, so why don't you go ahead and start passing those up," he suggested.

Bobby nudged her and reluctantly she handed him her paper, watching stonily as he put the word "lycanthropy" on the board.

"Now, can anywhere here tell me what that word means?" he asked. Several hands went up, but Laura's did not. He pointed to Lindsay with a smile.

"It's the medical term for someone becoming a werewolf," Lindsay said.

"Medical term, exactly what I was looking for," Remus smiled. "Lycanthopy is the name of the disease, as well as the act of being bitten and thus becoming a werewolf, and a lycanthrope…with an 'e'," he said, taking a moment to put it on the board, "is someone who is inflicted with it. Like myself, for example," he added. A low rumble broke out in the classroom, and Laura felt several pairs of eyes on her, while others stared at Remus with obvious concern.

"Turn to the beginning of next chapter, everyone, we'll be covering it in great detail today," he said loud enough to make them all turn around and settle back into their seats. "But before I begin, I want to go ahead and answer a question that I am sure many of you are probably curious about right now, and that's why in the world would I want to teach this in my position?" The room suddenly became quieter than it had been since the class started. "Well, putting personal reasons aside for the moment," he said with only a flicker of gaze at his daughter, "the main thing I want you to come away from this is not that you know twenty different ways to kill me in my worst phase…most of which," he frowned, glancing at the book, "would most undoubtedly kill anybody." A few nervous chuckles could be heard from the students. "But to also do my best to teach you not to get in my position in the first place. Knowledge and prevention are your greatest defenses, class, and prevention is first and foremost why you need this lesson. And if protecting yourself from getting bit leads you down a road where you must take whatever course of action is open to you, so be it. I'll do my job to try and teach you, for your own sakes as well as mine I hope you learn it. So, who will read me the first section?" he said, his voice suddenly changing into a much gentler tone as he looked for volunteers.

Standing near the doorway, Jennifer smiled softly and nodded to herself in satisfaction. But as she turned to move away she bumped into someone, nearly jumping out of her socks when she saw it was Severus standing behind her.

"I see your plan appears to be working," he said in a low voice.

"My plan? I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Really," he said in the same low voice and a look in his eyes that let her know he wasn't buying it.

"Hermione tell you?" Jennifer asked quietly.

"No one had to tell me. I knew what was going on the moment it touched my desk," Severus said. "Why else do you think I signed off on it?" Jennifer looked sheepish. "If there is one thing I've learned from having a family is that there's nothing more touch-and-go than a relationship between a father and a daughter. They're traumatic enough without having to add this sort of morbid friction to the flames. You simply saved me the trouble of asking him myself. Now, oughtn't you get back to your class? Bad enough you have Hermione babysitting in the first place, but I have a potion lab budget to sell to the board."

"Right away, Professor," Jennifer said with warm admiration, turning down the hall. Severus listened quietly for a few moments more, nodded to himself, then finally headed back to the Headmaster's Study.

Jennifer was in her sitting room that night absorbed in formulas when Severus got back from his meeting. Silently he opened the door and peered in at her before slipping in, glancing at the paper in his hand a moment before walking closer and looking over her shoulder.

"Working late, I see," he said, Jennifer physically jumping at the sound of his voice.

"I swear, Severus, you do enjoy doing that to me!" she exclaimed with exasperation. "I'm helping Pyther work out some experimental paints to try on the infected ones. I'd like to head to Baker Street tomorrow night to make some of these formulas up unless you need me here for something."

"I was planning to work late tomorrow anyhow," Severus said, glancing over her formulas.

"How did the board meeting go?" Jennifer asked distractedly, making another quick notation.

"Yes, well, not as I had hoped. In fact, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," Severus admitted.

"Oh?" Jennifer said, looking up curiously. "Should we head to the Study?"

"No, this is going to be personal, I'm afraid," Severus admitted, handing her the paper in his hand.

"Ugh!" Jennifer said, shaking her head at the numbers. "This is all the board would budge on? A bit more reinforcement surrounding the main lab and blast walls for stairwell? But that's not nearly enough!"

"To which they pointed out just how far over budget we already are this year…"

"Most of which is their fault to begin with," Jennifer fumed.

"Tell me something I don't already know," Severus muttered. "It's times like these I really miss the days we used to take this sort of thing for granted." Jennifer sat back in her seat.

"We sure did, didn't we?" Jennifer murmured, glancing over the numbers and shaking her head. "No matter what was going on in the school or what was lurking behind those gates, fines were always paid…hell, we were always paid…and we never did without anything we needed. Minerva and Dumbledore somehow made it all look easy."

"And then they had the insufferable tendency of appearing to actually like the job," Severus muttered. Jennifer chuckled softly at that. "But never mind all that, right now all that matters is getting that wing back up and to something capable of withstanding another thousand years of use, regardless of what sort of potions the future throws at it. That's something that this budget doesn't realistically allow for, and we can hardly wait for whatever fund raising methods Hermione wants to throw out to trickle in. I would like to borrow money from our personal accounts to cover the other improvements."

Jennifer sighed and turned the page, glancing over the original proposal and the number discrepancies. She had known it would probably come to this.

"Which vault, Severus?" she asked.

"I was thinking the Snape vault…"

"That one's tied to the children's trusts. Andrew will be able to draw on his this spring…"

"I pale to think what he will do with it," Severus said flatly.

"And Alicia the spring after," Jennifer finished, getting up and walking to Severus' sitting room with Severus not far behind as they went through their personal files.

"How about our mine shares?" he asked.

"Tied to retirement," Jennifer said, handing him a folder. "If you going to go that route, you may as well take it from the retirement fund outright rather than kill our assets. As you've already pointed out once this year, I, at least, am not going anywhere."

"It's simply a loan…"

"Yes, that's what you said last time you dipped in our accounts," Jennifer chuckled knowingly. "I'd rather like to think of it as a long term investment. But I had better have decent windows in there, Severus Snape."

"That and more," he promised, kissing her lovingly before the two of them dug further into their records.

It was a bitter cold night that night. So cold, in fact, that even the best spell Francis Pyther knew couldn't completely keep the chill off. Adjusting his feet a bit to keep from getting stuck to the bar of the telescope, Pyther shivered and drew his wings closer about himself where he hung upside down, watching the night sky. Below, a wedge of light stretched across the fallen snow coming from the igloo door. He had started to doze when the sound of voices in his sensitive ears forced him awake, and he noticed a shadow across the doorway.

"This is it!" Jacob declared, dragging his tripod out.

"It had better be," Alicia chuckled, leading her easel out.

"Now, Alicia, that's no way to act, you're going to give yourself bad karma!" Jacob said, making a sign to ward off evil. "It's a much clearer night than last time too. I should try and set up the time-lapse camera this time."

"I thought last time you tried that it froze on you. Literally," Alicia said, pulling her cloak around herself.

"I have more charms on it this time, so hopefully that won't happen again," he said, watching her while she began painting. "You'll capture it this time, I think."

"Well, we'll see," Alicia said with a smile.

"There you go again!" Jacob said with exasperation. "Must you always be so skeptical?"

"I'm a Snape, it's in my blood," Alicia chuckled.

They grew quiet then, but Pyther was already focusing in on her painting, watching with interest. Her style had changed over the years, that much was certain; it was a curious mix of techniques she had picked up from her travels. The landscape itself she strove meticulously to get as realistic as possible, but she seemed to take more liberties with the texture itself, using intentionally heavy brush strokes to break up the shadows and greys. He realized with some amusement that she had probably picked up the habit there in the Arctic, faced with so many shades of grey. But it was winter nights such as these that made the dreariest of days seem worthwhile.

It was then Jacob murmured something that Pyther didn't quite make out, but Alicia nodded then, closing her eyes for a moment. Pyther strained to see her painting better, looking at her expression. Was this it? Had she finally figured it out? He frowned at the painting then, wondering if she had put enough time into the landscape. But as the light began to gather in the sky, Jacob called her name and she looked up, grabbing her paintbrush.

Pyther flailed his wings in frustration as the brush struck the canvas, knowing for certain now that it wouldn't come out the way she wanted. She was close…oh so close…but not quite…not yet. Part of him wanted to fly down and reveal himself then and there; correcting it, coddling it, teaching her as he had done once before. A mix of will power and sheer terror kept him from doing it, kept him at a distance. Perhaps she just didn't trust herself. Perhaps she just didn't understand. Perhaps she just wasn't ready. Feeling a bit deflated, Pyther settled back down. _Give her time,_ he thought to himself, _give her time to work it out on her own._ But when Jacob glanced over at Alicia when he thought she wasn't looking, Pyther suddenly changed his mind. _One last note, one last try_, Pyther decided, gazing at the aurora for a moment longer before taking flight beneath the northern lights.


	16. The Fifth House

_A/N Happy Holidays all! I've been busy going through past stories lately and ironing out some things pertaining to this storyline at the same time. What with holidays and work and you guys busy at well, it seemed like a good time to take a break and do that. But anyhow, here's a new chapter for you, and I'll probably have one for you guys tomorrow to. Happy Yule (Christmas, and so on and so forth...) JC Writer _

Chapter Sixteen

The Fifth House

When Ambrose arrived at the library after dinner the next night, he was rather surprised to find Laura sitting by herself in a corner with a glum look on her face, picking at the table instead of doing her work. Curious, Ambrose went over to her, glancing over at the Ravenclaw girls she normally sat with on the other side of the room.

"Hullo! Mind some company?" Ambrose asked, heaving his books onto the table.

"As long as you don't mind being seen with me too," Laura said bitterly.

"Sure, why not?" Ambrose frowned. "Where's Lindsay?"

"Quidditch practice," Laura said. "Of course _she_ didn't abandon me. She knew already."

"Knew? About what?"

"About my father being ill," Laura said.

"Oh that," Ambrose said, sitting down. "I knew about that."

"Well, they didn't, and now they're treating me as if it's something as contagious as a cold. I think half of them are convinced I'm one too," Laura said glumly.

"Sure they're not just mad you never brought it up before?" Ambrose asked.

"I never brought it up before because I was afraid this would happen," Laura said quietly.

"Maybe you sensed they weren't trustworthy enough to tell them," Ambrose said. "Either way, I'd hope if something like that ever happened to my Mum that my friends would be supportive."

"Yeah," Laura said. "Part of me doesn't even want to go back up to the room tonight. Last night, Cheryl flipped out and wouldn't stay in the same room with me. I don't really feel like going back there if I'm not wanted."

"Yeah, I had problems in my dorms too. They moved me in with the Prefect this year," Ambrose chuckled. "So he really taught you about defending against werewolves in his class? That must have taken some real nerve!"

"Yeah, I suppose," Laura said reluctantly. "But I'm still mad at him for coming out and telling everyone like that."

"Why, you're not ashamed of him, are you?" Ambrose said.

"No, of course not!" Laura snapped.

"Good, because you shouldn't be," Ambrose said, opening his Charms book. "I think it'd be neat to have him as a father. Then again, I'd like to have any father," he admitted with a grin. Laura gazed at the boy, a sudden wave of guilt hitting her, wondering if she had been behaving as badly as her housemates had been. She glanced over at where they were huddling at the other table and noticed Lucky walking towards them.

"'Ey, guys," Lucky said, hopping into a seat. "'Ey, Laura. How'd you get stuck in our corner?"

"Her housemates flipped when they found out her father was a werewolf," Ambrose said casually. Laura stared at him, aghast.

"Oh, is that what the deal is? I wondered what was going on with him," Lucky said, sitting down. "Guess that's what Uncle Sirius meant that day at Corey's? About it being a bad time? Always wondered about that."

"But it doesn't surprise you?" Laura asked quietly. Lucky glanced at Ambrose who merely shrugged.

"The other night I met a vampire that had about as much bite as a bowl of oatmeal and the personality of a baby Chihuahua. Nuthin' surprises me anymore," Lucky said. Ambrose grinned at her. "Speaking of which, did you find out anythin' more on the project of yours?"

"Professor Scribe got me an appointment with Snape tomorrow," Ambrose said.

"Project?" Laura asked curiously.

"He's fixing our history book," Lucky said.

"Fixing it?" Laura asked with surprise.

"Updating it," Ambrose explained. "I'd show you the notes, but Professor Scribe still has them. What are you working on?"

"Oh, Transfiguration," Laura admitted. Lucky grimaced.

"I hate that class. I hope the Professor don't disown me when he sees my scores in it," Lucky muttered.

"Don't feel bad, it's my best subject next to Defense, and I'm barely passing it," Laura said. "Maybe I could help you study, Lucky?"

"If someone could just explain liquid properties to me in a way I could understand it, I think I'd be okay," Lucky said ruefully. Laura and Ambrose began to talk at once and then quieted down, taking turns answering question while Lucky mostly banged her head against the table. They had been there for some time until Helena finally showed up carrying a book so large it dwarfed everything else on the table. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at it.

"What the hell is that?" Lucky asked at last as Helena began to thumb through it.

"This year's unabridged copy of Hogwarts rules and regulations," Helena explained, opening it.

"More proof we're stuck in a bureaucratic institution," Lucky said critically.

"What are you looking for?" Ambrose asked.

"A way to get out of my house without having to prove it's life or death," Helena said in a low voice. "There's got to be a catch twenty-two in here somewhere."

"Well, look up the twenty-second law and see what it says?" Ambrose suggested.

"I doubt it'd be that simple, Ambrose," Laura said.

"By the looks of it, I don't think anything in there could be that simple," Lucky said, still looking at the size of the book warily. "In fact, just looking at that book is going to make me paranoid. I'm gonna be walkin' down the hall and wonderin' how many rules I had to break to do it."

"Look up rule twenty-two, just in case," Ambrose insisted. Helena flipped through a few pages until she found it, rolling her eyes.

"'Rule twenty-two. All rules and regulations pertaining to the school, whether written within these articles or understood by the board of governors and the general assembly, may be bent or broken at any time by the Headmaster if the Headmaster deems it necessary to preserve the principles of the school,'" Helena read.

"Say that again?" Ambrose asked.

"It means the Headmaster can do what he damn well wants to do," Laura told him.

"Oh! Good rule," Ambrose said. Lucky looked at him dubiously.

"Well, it doesn't help me, " Helena said irritably, flipping through the book.

"Even if you could get into another house, where would you wanna go, Lena?" Ambrose asked. "I'm sure you don't feel any different about Gryffindor."

"Well, maybe Ravenclaw then," Helena said.

"Ravenclaw isn't any picnic either," Laura said, glancing towards the other table again. "Right now Hufflepuff sounds better, at least I have some friends there."

"I don't think I'd fit in Hufflepuff," Helena said emphatically. "Then again, I'm not sure I fit in anywhere."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Lucky said. "I don't have nothin' against Gryffindor, but there's nobody there I hang with. It'd be nice if we were all in the same house somehow."

"Hey, I know!" Ambrose said suddenly. "Let's start our own house!"

The three girls stared at him.

"_Qué idea tan estúpida!"_ Lucky declared.

"Yeah, what she said," Helena agreed. "Well, I don't know what she said, exactly, but I'm sure I heard stupid somewhere in there."

"It isn't!" Ambrose said, leaning over the table. "Look, who here is happy with their houses at the moment?" he asked, looking at the somber faces. "None of us are. Why? Because we're all having issues and they all would rather condemn us for them instead of support us. But we all want to help each other, we're all social deviants, right?"

"We're what?" Laura said blankly, and Helena tapped her shoulder.

"Humor him a moment," Helena suggested.

"Well, we are, so why not make our own house with our own house rules?" Ambrose said excitedly.

"And where do we sleep, Bill?" Lucky asked.

"Well…well, yeah, I'd guess we'd have to sleep where we are, but dorm rooms aren't the only thing houses are about, if it were, we wouldn't be in the position in the first place," Ambrose pointed out. "It'd be more like a club, where we study together, keep track of each others schedules and help each other out. And we can keep track of each other's points as a group, too, and support each other's activities and stuff…like we were on the same team."

"You know, in my house we have students that keep track of individual points like he's talking about," Helena suddenly put in. "They even elect someone in each year to help encourage folks to add points. I wouldn't mind doing handling that part, if you're all game, I mean."

"I'd be open to the idea if we can ask Lindsay to join in too," Laura said.

"Sure!" Ambrose said. "Besides, she's practically family. But after that, only social deviants allowed, right Lucky?"

"I am still not sure where you're going with this, chico," Lucky said. "But I kinda like the idea of having more people to talk to besides you, no offense, Bill."

"None taken," Ambrose said with a grin.

"And another thing, Bill. If you plan to have this fifth house…club…whatever, we gotta find somewhere better to meet or even study at, because if we keep coming in here like this we're gonna have that old green goblin breathing down our necks," Lucky said, then realized that Laura, Helena and Ambrose all had strange looks on their faces.

"How about now, for example?" Librarian Boulderdash suggested, a dangerous glint in his coal eyes when Lucky turned around.

"Ya, good example," Lucky agreed. His mouth crept upward on his face, although Lucky wasn't sure if it was an actual smile or not.

"Follow me, you four. Bring your books," he added. While the other three had looks of resignation on their faces, Laura was wondering what she had just gotten herself into and why she had let Ambrose sit by her in the first place, especially after Boulderdash opened the door to his private office.

But as they stepped into the book-cluttered room, he immediately opened another door to the right of the one they entered and showed them inside a clean but somewhat disorganized storage room. The goblin then went over to an oval table that took up one half of the room, picking up all the books he had left on top of it.

"You may study here if you like," Boulderdash said, going over to the bookshelves that made up the other half of the room to return the books he had in his hand. "Or have your meetings, research your means of defiance, plan your revolts, or whatever dissidence this group you're forming is plotting; I really don't care, as long as I can get you noisy chatterers out of my library once and for all. The password to my office is "Cast not books before swine" and the storage room door doesn't lock. I trust you will keep library hours in mind if you don't want me to revoke the use of my store room," he said, eyeing them warningly. "Oh, and to those whom it may concern," he added glancing at Lucky with wide smile. "I poison the locks on my desk. I trust they won't be tampered with. I for one would rather not have to explain to the Headmaster how a student's corpse ended up in my office. Have a good evening," he added before going back out to the library floor.

Helena stared after the Librarian with open wonder, while Laura and Lucky exchanged wary glances.

"Well!" Ambrose said cheerfully. "That was lucky, wasn't it?" The three girls turned and stared at him.

When the trumpet blared the next morning and most students groaned in protest and distain, Ambrose leapt out of bed and got dressed, a lot more excited than nervous about his appointment and a chance to see his godfather again on a one on one basis. When he had first gotten to the school, he thought he would see him all the time, but quickly realized that wasn't going to be the case at all. Short of special occasions or major calamities, he barely saw him more than a brief glimpse in the hall as he attempted to track down one staff member or another, barely giving him more than a passing glance. This year he seemed even more scarce; perhaps preoccupied by the paintings and the damage to the castle which still hadn't seemed to be touched short of a tarp draped over the outside so that rain wouldn't get in.

He was one of the first at breakfast, already tucking in by the time most of his other housemates came down. Lindsay smiled warmly at him and sat down beside him.

"I just thought you'd want to know that Laura told me everything, and we're in," she murmured in his ear.

"Great!" Ambrose said, beaming at her. "So you'll be at the library tonight for our first meeting?"

"Of course, wouldn't miss it," Lindsay promised him. "I hear you have a meeting of your own soon."

"Yeah, over my history project," Ambrose said.

"Well, good luck, although I don't really know how you make time for it with homework being how it is right now," she said.

"It isn't easy," Ambrose admitted. Just then he saw Lindsay wave and looked up to see Laura heading to the Ravenclaw table, waving back. Then she saw Ambrose, signing a ward of good luck with her hand. A moment later, Helena walked with Don, Mike, and some of the other Slytherin first years, subtly making a sign of her own. "I really like this house!" he declared, Lindsay looking at him with amusement, knowing that the others grinning around him was thinking he was talking about Hufflepuff.

"You certainly don't act like it," Delia said grumpily, poking at her breakfast. "What are you in such a hurry today, anyhow?"

"I have an appointment with the Headmaster, and I don't want to be late," Ambrose said.

"Sure you have," Delia said.

"Ambrose has been doing extra work in Professor's Scribe class, haven't you, Ambrose?" Lindsay said defensively.

"Yep, she's the one that set up the appointment," Ambrose said.

"You know that's funny, considering I remember all the Professors telling us there would be no extra credit this year," Delia said flatly.

"Delia?" Terrance said from the other end of the table, leaning over a bit to see her. "Why don't you try something novel and mind your own business for a change?" Delia gave him a vicious look but didn't say another word, turning her attention to breakfast.

Suddenly feeling surrounded by champions, Ambrose felt even more confident now about his meeting, finishing off his pumpkin juice and getting up, but frowning when he couldn't spot Lucky at the Gryffindor table. He stepped outside and looked down all the halls. He really hadn't wanted to go without at least seeing her. He glanced around, wondering where the nearest clock was, knowing he couldn't wait too long. Trust her to pick today to sleep in, he thought with annoyance.

"Hello, Bailey! What are you doing lurking about?"

Ambrose looked over to see Don, Mike and Helena, who had just walked out of the Great Hall.

"Just trying to get a word with Lucky before my appointment," Ambrose said.

"Appointment?" Don asked. Helena was staring hard at him, as if willing him to keep quiet.

"With the Headmaster," Ambrose said.

"Already?" Don blinked, then glanced at his brother. "Guess you were right, Mike. I thought he'd last a lot longer, though."

"What do you mean?" Ambrose asked in confusion.

"Aren't you going to see him about your marks?" Mike asked.

"Um, well sort of, but it's not really any of your business, is it?" Ambrose said.

"Cheeky kid," Don said. "Well, so long, nipper, it was nice knowin' you, we've got studying to do," he explained.

Ambrose shook his head at them as he watched them go, then finally gave up on Lucky, hurrying up the stairs. He had to pause for a moment or two as a couple of them decided to change on him halfway up, but he finally made it over to the spiral staircase, hesitating momentarily at the closed doors before knocking. A moment later one of them swung open and Ambrose slipped in to see the Headmaster glancing over the paper Ambrose had put together for Professor Scribe.

"Have a seat, Mr. Bailey," Severus said, lifting up the paper to frown at the back one a moment. Quietly as he could, he sat in the red, high-backed chair.

"This chair rather looks like the one in the library in your house, doesn't it?" Ambrose said. He suddenly noticed the portrait of a pleasant looking older woman on the wall…the only painting in the room who wasn't asleep. She, in turn, seemed to be watching him, winking at him when he noticed her.

"An astute observation, but I hardly agreed to this appointment for small talk," Severus said. "Professor Scribe has brought to my attention that you have taken it upon yourself to 'fix' history."

"Update it, sir," Ambrose immediately corrected him, getting a squinting look in response. Ambrose heard a woman's giggle, but it was stifled before Ambrose looked over at the portrait. Severus pretended he hadn't heard it. "Some things have come out since that book was first published. It's even older than I am!"

"Practically everything on the planet is older than you are," Severus frowned at him disapprovingly, sorting some other papers on his desk until he drew one out and showed it to him. Ambrose suddenly grew uncomfortable. "Do you recognize this, Mr. Bailey?"

"It's my Charms homework," Ambrose admitted.

"Your best class last year, was it not?" Severus asked, eyeing the boy steadily. Ambrose nodded. "Then tell me how is it that after a full weekend you were unable to fully finish it when you turned this in to Professor Scribe that same morning?"

"Actually, I've been working on that paper since the first day of school…"

"Shall I retrieve all of your homework since then and see how much was unfinished?"

"Nobody else finished them either, and at least I'm doing well on the tests, and I know lots of others who aren't doing well on those. Even Lucky's having all sorts of trouble…"

"I'm not here to talk about Fortuna's performance, Ambrose, I'm here to speak about yours, and the fact that this…" he said, holding up Ambrose's history notes, "is some of your best work, and this…" he said, holding up the homework again, "is not. Nor this…" he said, grabbing another and handing it to him, "nor this…and this one, these essays in Defense are shoddy at best…" Ambrose sat glumly as he found himself holding turn-ins from every class. "And at the bottom of the barrel, your work in Potions is a nightmare."

"I'm not the only one in my class that doesn't understand the notation," Ambrose said defensively.

"Yes, but then why aren't you then studying with someone who does?" Severus asked him. Ambrose grew quiet. There was no point to mentioning that he studied with Lucky when he was quite sure Severus already knew that. "The other problem I have with this is your reference notes…who taught you how to write footnotes, Mr. Bailey?"

"Lucky," Ambrose admitted.

"Perhaps next time around you should try a more competent source," Severus suggested. "However, since Professor Scribe seems to be of the opinion she has time to teach you, I trust that will be remedied."

"You mean I can continue with the research?" Ambrose asked cautiously.

"That would depend, Mr. Bailey, on whether or not my other complaints on your other classes are addressed. I do not want you to add one word or open one book or interview anyone pertaining to this project of yours unless every scrap of homework is done, every line of reading assigned to you has been read, and every action open to you has been taken to bring your marks to acceptable order and preferably to the top of every class. Tell me, Mr. Bailey, have you any suspicions at all as to why exactly this school has been under pressure to teach such high standards this year?"

"I know why, sir," Ambrose said somberly.

"Then why don't you do us both a favor and stop mucking about and get those marks up? Eight or not, you are first and foremost a second year Hogwarts student and I expect you to take some level of responsibility for your studies, preferably above all other distractions," Severus said sternly, waiting for Ambrose to nod before getting out a clean letterhead. "I'm going to write you a blanket approval concerning your research, giving you permission to take out what research materials you need from the library and restricted section…as Boulderdash sees fit…and speak with faculty and such at their convenience, not yours, Mr. Bailey…"

"Does that include Mr. Pyther?" Ambrose asked anxiously.

"Mr. Pyther is here as a personal favor to the school and his time is extremely limited," Severus said, frowning at the boy's eager face disapprovingly. "You will not waste his time…if he so chooses to spare it for you…or the time of anyone else who decides for whatever reason to help you with this silly project. I had also better not find you breaking any rules for this either, which includes curfew, by the way…"

"Yes, sir," Ambrose said. "Could you write him a note too? He was awfully insistent he has written permission. I think he's kinda scared of you."

"Mr. Pyther is scared of everything, not in the least of which himself," Severus said briskly, then saw the way Ambrose was grinning at him. "Yes, well, don't repeat that. I'll speak with him myself. Your report and your note, Mr. Bailey."

"Thank you, sir!" Ambrose said enthusiastically, then paused, glancing at the time. "Can I get a pass for being late to class too?" Sighing softly, Severus ripped off a colored sheet off a stack and handed that to him as well, his expression daring him to ask for anything else. But Ambrose simply took it and grinned, running out of the room.

"Nice boy, lots of energy," Caprica commented when Severus seemed to become lost in his thoughts. "Looks a lot like his father, doesn't he? Those eyes…"

"Don't remind me," Severus said, sitting up in his chair and straightening his desk.

"Speaking of eyes, I saw a glimmer in yours a few moments ago. Up to anything interesting?" she asked.

"Perhaps," Severus said noncommittally. "It will depend on whether or not my aces prove to be good enough to play my hand when it's time to call." Caprica laughed.

"I think Lucky's rubbing off on you," Caprica decided.

"Perhaps it's merely something that we have in common," Severus said, placing his fingertips together. "I too prefer to only gamble when I know I can control the odds."

"Here ye! Here ye!" said Ambrose, deciding it sounded more official. "The first meeting of the Fifth House will now come to order."

"I move that we figure out a better name," Helena said. Lucky smirked.

"How about Ambrose and the four L's?" Ambrose suggested. The girls groaned and Lucky threw a wad of paper at him.

"Two of us don't really have L names anyhow," Helena pointed out.

"Ambrose and the four ladies?" he offered.

"You wish, chico," Lucky said.

"Oh, come on, it should be after someone famous like the four founders houses," Laura said.

"House of Merlin?" Lindsay suggested.

"All houses are in the house of Merlin, from what Janus told me," Ambrose said. "How about the house of Snape?"

"No way!" Lucky protested, the others protesting as well. "Let's go ahead and leave out any last names of those present."

"Yes, adopted or our pre-adopted names," Lindsay agreed.

"We wouldn't want mine anyhow," Lucky snorted. "Ambrose, you're the history expert, maybe you can dig up somebody."

"I wouldn't want it to be just anybody," Ambrose said. "I'd want it to have some meaning to us somehow."

"Well, maybe we should just go by fifth house until we think of something else then," Laura suggested. "We're also going to need officers. You know, prefects."

"Prefects have to be fifth year. And they're decided by the advisors," Lindsay pointed out.

"In Slytherin, the outgoing prefects choose who the next is going to be," Helena said.

"Besides, it's not like they could have real points privileges anyhow, no matter who we choose," Lindsay said. "But if it's going to eventually more than just us, we probably should have someone in the role."

"Yeah, we should vote," Lucky said.

"And just how are we going to decide who to let in?" Helena asked.

"Again we should vote," Lucky said. "And they gotta need to be in."

"What's wrong with just us?" Laura said.

"Five people don't make a house," Ambrose said. "Besides, I bet there's a bunch of other kids out there that feel put out like we did who need someone to lean on. That's the whole point of this thing anyhow, isn't it?"

"I think they're right, I think we should reach out to anyone we notice that needs somewhere to turn," Lindsay said. "In fact, I volunteer to do what I can to look for them."

"So we got a points keeper and a recruiter now," Lucky said. "Laura, you want to be a prefect?"

"Me?" Laura said with surprise.

"I suppose I should be one of them," Ambrose said.

"Considering you're the only boy at the moment, I think that prolly goes without sayin'," Lucky said bluntly.

"Make a note, Lindsay, recruit more boys," Laura said, and Lindsay nodded solemnly, pulling out some paper. "Ooo, I know, what about Dale Chance? I bet he'd join if you asked, Lucky…"

"No, no, no, that sort of popular jock type is exactly what we don't want. Besides, he has no problems with his house," Lucky said.

"True," Laura said disappointedly. "Although it would be nice to have an older student to help with organizing study groups."

"Maybe, but I think you could do it for now, Laura," Lindsay suggested. "Didn't you say you wanted to help Lucky with her Transfiguration and stuff anyhow?"

"It needs all the help it can get," Lucky muttered.

"Okay, I'll have a go at it then," Laura said with a nod. "I'll need everyone's schedules to try and coordinate study times and things."

"I need everyone to remember to write down all the points they get or lose," Helena put in.

"And let me know if they spot someone who needs in," Lindsay said. "With our jobs set now, that leaves you to be the girl prefect, Lucky," she pointed out. "That way, all five of us have a part in making this work."

"All right," Lucky said with a shrug.

"So what's the next order of business then?" Helena asked.

"Homework," Lucky and Ambrose said almost at the same time.

"Shall we start with the weakest subjects first?" Laura asked, but as they started fussing with their books, Lucky shook her head.

"No," Lucky said. "You know…I'm not going to fool myself. I don't think I can recover my Transfiguration mark no matter what I try. Maybe we ought to do what we can to get our best classes done first. I don't know about you, but I would rather have one or two good marks in something then a lot of mediocre or failing marks all the way across. This isn't like last year's books, and considering nobody's said anything about the bad marks yet, I get the feeling we weren't expected to ace everything this year."

"I think she's right," Helena said. "We should keep reading through everything like before, but honestly, I don't think I can pass Potions any more than she can pass Transfiguration, no matter how hard I work at it. If we have time left over, then let's tackle our worst, but let's get our best subjects as good as we can. If nothing else, we can try to convince ourselves we're not complete idiots."

"Well, let's get to it then, I say," Ambrose said, putting history under his chair and grabbing his Charms book. "You know, I think we made real progress tonight."

"Let's just see if we can make more," Laura said, frowning and pointing him towards his book. The five of them quieted down then, only speaking up when someone had a question about homework. It was so quiet, in fact, that Boulderdash peeked in to check on them. Grunting at the irony, he went over to his desk and didn't pester them again until it was time to chase them off for the night.


	17. Aurora

_A/N And here is that second chapter I promised. Although it wasn't necessarily planned, I can't think of a better chapter to release today; even tho it's merely approaching Halloween in the story. It has a lot of heartfelt sincerity, and the quest for the Light within, so I hope you enjoy it JCWriter._

Chapter Seventeen

Aurora

"So the question is," Jennifer said after she and Pyther had stood in the quarantine room for a while, "which painting do we try these on?" She was carrying a tray of small clay pots, each with a different mixture of glaze that she had created earlier that evening.

"I don't recognize all of the smaller frames," Pyther admitted. "But we should avoid any portraits if we can, and we know all the larger frames are portraits."

"I suppose we should have labeled them with what they were before we put them in here," Jennifer said.

"Well, it can't be helped now," Pyther said, carefully pulling out enough brushes out of his kit for every mix. "Let's try one of the smaller ones," he said, walking over to a collection of them thoughtfully.

Suddenly, a loud shrieking wail bellowed out of seemingly nowhere and the ghost of Icarus Ravenclaw burst out one of the paintings with a horrifying, angry look on his face that it sent Pyther scrambling to get behind Jennifer. In fact, it was so disturbing that even Jennifer was slowly backing up.

"Don't you dare touch this painting! You're going to ruin it!" he shrieked like a claxon.

"We're not trying to ruin anything, we're trying to fix them, you fool!" Jennifer snapped, and then nearly tripped over Pyther, who had fainted. "Oh, honestly! Ick, now look what you've done!" she said with exasperation, putting down the tray to try and wake him.

"Good! He can't harm anything that way!" Icarus said viciously.

"Pyther would no more hurt a painting than he would a living soul," Jennifer said, reaching in her cloak to pull out some smelling salts. In a moment he was awake again, gazing in Jennifer's eyes and wondering why she was over him like that.

He sat up, gathering what little wits he had to look around the room and at Icarus, who was sobbing in front of the small painting. Shakily he got up, thanking Jennifer and nudging her gently away from him before getting his nerve up to go over to the anguished spirit.

"Whose portrait is that, Icarus?" Pyther asked.

"Cynuise," Icarus whispered. "And…and the children."

"Your wife?" Pyther asked, and he nodded, sobbing again.

"So this has what got you all loopy lately? Why didn't you say something?" Jennifer asked with exasperation.

"And hear you going off again about how I got what I deserved?" Ick said angrily, turning on Jennifer. "How I murdered them in cold blood for the selfish pursuit of trying to stop Slytherin's heir from happening? They had some tea and went to sleep! They never suffered, and yet because I must suffer for my deeds you make me suffer further at any given opportunity!"

"I…I haven't said two words about that in years!" Jennifer said.

"But you still think of me as a murderer!" he accused her.

"You are a murderer, Ick," Jennifer said bluntly. Pyther gently put a hand on her shoulder. Icarus began to sob again.

"Jennifer, he's not completely sentient at the moment," Francis told her gently. "Listen to him, he's only partially aware of what's going on. Stay here with him, I'm going to get Janus."

Jennifer sighed as Francis slipped out, trying to ignore Ick's grating moaning, knowing even if she could get him to acknowledge her again that anything she would say would simply make it worse. Instead, she picked up Francis' kit and began gathering up the brushes and paints that had gotten scattered during the scare. It was then she spotted a folded paper and happened to glance at it, and before she actually thought about it began to read it, for at first she thought it was simply a poem he was jotting down. It wasn't until several lines later that she realized it was much more than that and closed her eyes, immediately feeling guilty as she folded it back up. She reached for the kit then to open it and put it inside when Pyther came in, stopping short when he saw what she was doing. Janus simply traveled through him, missing the exchange completely as he went over to his friend, talking quietly to him. Knowing she wasn't capable of hiding what she had done, she simply finished what she was doing and handed him his kit.

"Thank you," Francis said quietly.

"Please don't," Jennifer said, turning to watch Janus and Icarus. "Perhaps I should ask Severus to give him the day off tomorrow."

"He'll be all right by then," Janus said, shaking his head at her.

"He does always seem the most sane when he's teaching," Francis murmured. "Has he ever had an episode during class?"

"No, come to think of it, or I'm sure Severus would have replaced him by now," Jennifer admitted.

"Then I wouldn't worry too much," Francis assured her, watching as the two ghosts walked through the door before opening his kit and putting the note under the tray.

"I'm sorry, Francis," Jennifer said. "It must have come out when you fell."

"I suppose it's obvious then who it was for," Francis said. "You won't tell Severus?"

"It's no more his business than it is mine," Jennifer said, picking up the tray of paints again. "Well, we know not to try that one. Any other suggestions?"

"Any of the small ones set horizontally is more likely to be scenery," Francis suggested distractedly. "Jennifer, there's something I'd like to tell you…something I thought I'd never admit…"

"If it's anything about Alicia, I'd rather not hear it."

"No, actually, it isn't, although I can't help but think my life might be in your hands as I say it," Francis said, a curious sort of dry amusement evident in his voice. "When we first met…that sitting the Christmas fair where I did your portrait…well, I confess I had a rather strong crush on you."

"Oh," Jennifer said, smiling gently at him. "Yes, I knew that, Pyther. And if it weren't for the fact I was already in love with Severus…well, Pyther, the attraction was hardly one-sided." Francis stared at her wide-eyed, nearly dropping his art kit again. "I'm pretty sure Severus knew I was fascinated with you too, although he never said it, I have a feeling it just added fuel to the fire in his mind."

"I never suspected that even for an instant. Especially with the painting."

"It rather happened during and after the painting," Jennifer admitted. "Even though I had known since I met him that Severus could be the only one I could ever be with, you did turn my head."

"For a while there I was just as envious of him as I was terrified of him," Francis chuckled. "Of course, I got over all of that."

"Obviously, or you wouldn't have brought it up," Jennifer grinned at him. "When did you?"

"When I painted Severus," Francis said after a moment. "You?"

"Not long after Alicia was born," Jennifer admitted, Francis looking at her in amazement. "I didn't know why at the time, it just rather left me," she said with a smile and a gentle shake of the head.

"Quite strange, isn't it?" Francis murmured. "You know, I've often wondered about that close call I had with the Leanan Sidhe…I've often thought about how Dumbledore believed that Alicia's talents came from that encounter, and I wondered…since the Leanan was draining me at the time…if there was a part of me there too, and perhaps that is the real reason why I've always felt such a connection to her."

"Real reason, Pyther?" Jennifer asked him.

"Well, yes, it was either that or my initial attraction to you," Pyther admitted, pulling down one of the paintings and carefully removing it from the frame.

"I see, and the fact that perhaps the two of your might be meant for each other never crossed your mind," Jennifer said knowingly, walking over with the tray as he put the painting on an easel, gently dusting it.

"Once, and that foolish notion is what earned me Severus' wrath and Merlin's painting," Pyther said, reading the labels of the glaze before choosing one. "But I know now it was nothing but a whim to explain my fascination with her…a silly fantasy, considering the years between us." Jennifer studied him for a long time.

"Then why write her, Pyther? Even anonymous as you obviously mean it to be, why even test the waters if you don't think that's what it is?" she asked.

"Because I still don't know the real reason," Francis said. "And regardless of how intimidating it might be to open this Pandora's Box, I don't feel like I can truly move on with my life one way or the other unless I know." Jennifer smiled and nodded, then turned her attention to the painting as they began to run some tests.

Alicia awoke, not quite sure what time it was. In fact, she never seemed to know anymore without Zoë's comings and goings except when Jacob mentioned it before a storm. It was rather easy with the constant twilight to fall into a random pattern, although Alicia would be the first to admit it was hardly a healthy habit to get into…crashing only at the point of extreme exhaustion and eating at random merely to stave off hunger when it distracted her work.

"Morning, sleepyhead!" Jacob said cheerfully, trying to wash the burnt coffee out of his metal coffee pot.

"Is it really morning this time?" Alicia chuckled.

"More or less, it's after four," he grinned. "You beat the Peppermint Post, even. I want to see if it's still predicting another storm, the solar winds have died a bit."

"Just as well," Alicia said, pushing her feet into a pair of heavy wool slippers before shuffling to the center of the room where an easel displayed her latest attempt. From there she could look at it from every angle and from a distance, attempting to figure out why it wasn't quite right. "Do you know what the last few attempts rather reminds me of?"

"Hm?" Jacob said, busy starting another pot of coffee.

"A band with new member, who plays his heart out but screeches every other note," Alicia said. Jacob chuckled, turning to look at the painting again.

"I suppose you mean the aurora part…your night sky has actually been improving quite steadily…even without the aurora, the sky here is tricky because of the twilight, and you have definitely have come a long way on that, even with your fantastic talent coming in."

"Yes, if I take anything away from spending months here it'll be mastering shadows," Alicia said dryly.

"Well, that's something, isn't it?" Jacob said. "And you know, the aurora isn't all that bad…maybe if you tried impressionism with it…"

"But that wouldn't be capturing it, not really," Alicia said with a sigh. "Impressionism is more about an artist's feelings about a subject, and not really about a subject."

"Yes, but…didn't Mr. Franks say something about you needing to feel the light within or something?"

"Look within to find the light," Alicia said. "But I'm really not sure that's what it meant." She dug out the poem again. "Don't uncover it…discover it. Honestly, why can't people just say what they mean? I'm half tempted to go to town and track him down, because I am getting nowhere."

"Well…not this time of the morning at any rate," Jacob said, handing her a cup of coffee. "I don't suppose you're in the mood to help me with some readings in a bit?"

"Sure, why not," Alicia said with a sigh. "Would you mind terribly if I saw that time lapse you did once more?"

"Sure," Jacob said, taking a moment to find his photo album among his equipment and handed it to her. She was still studying it when there was a flutter and Jacob's raven came in with the paper. "Ah, thanks, Albert. What, hello, what's this? Another letter from our Mr. Franks, I imagine," he said, Alicia looking up with surprise. "Ever noticed how he seems to write just before a storm?"

"It's only his second letter," Alicia said, taking it. "He must have realized his other two messages were much too vague."

"Artists excel at being vague," Jacob said with amusement, wandering over to his equipment and pretended to be interested in it, while peering over curiously as Alicia read the note.

_Life is an endless circle of darkness and light;_

_And many times and in many lives that light is brief._

_It is much more common to stumble about in the dark, making the best of day to day life,_

_Hoping that when the end does come it won't be a reflection of hardships endured, but rather of our limited accomplishments._

_That said, it is the darkness in our lives that make the light that much more precious…_

_A brilliance that can be remembered and drawn from when strength is needed in more trying times, no matter how fleeting and far between the lights may be in our lives._

_Learning to truly appreciate them is something I'm not certain can come from any teacher other than one's self. It took me many years to learn it, and I have spent many years in darkness without seeing any light at all._

_But know this; these events in our lives cannot be forced or rushed. It is not as simple as waking yourself up from a bad dream, or trying to play through a bad situation by pretending to be happy, hoping that you may learn to truly feel it. It is not a reward we can give ourselves; it is a reward we earn. We may chose a path that we know will lead us to the light, but it is a path we must walk…not run, nor charge; for otherwise how can we truly appreciate the wonder of it, or the miracle of it, or the pure gift of seeing past the shadows of our lives for a glimpse of what's truly important._

_In many ways, even now, I'm not certain this is something you can understand yet, but the fact that you are seeking the aurora gives me hope that you are on the road to achieving it, no matter how long that road may wind. I also realize that this is probably not the sort of letter you were expecting, but it was something that needed spoken, and whether you realize it or not, speaks of the very thing you are attempting to learn._

_I shall but give you one last piece of advice, for if after that it isn't clear to you… I feel that I may not be the one fated to teach you at all; whether that is for good or ill I would not hazard a guess, nor do I feel I could currently endure the answer._

_Be that as it may, my final advice is this: Light cannot be captured or mastered. Light cannot be perfected. It is already perfect, as man was never meant to be. It is very much your nature to be a perfectionist, but that, my dear, is what is holding you back. We are just as much the sum of our mistakes, our grief, and our fears as we are of our accomplishments. It is one thing to strive for perfection; but until you realize you cannot be, you will never appreciate that light itself can be._

_ Your Fellow Artist._

Jacob watched with curiosity as a strange haunted expression grew on Alicia's face that he had never seen before; distant and unreachable. She read it several times before looking around, still with that odd look on her face.

"We have a storm coming?"

"Well, the particle density is high enough for a decent show, but the solar winds need to pick up…Peppermint Post seems pretty certain we'll see activity in this area, though…" Jacob mused, "I'll keep watching it, I'll let you know if the magnetic field turns south."

"I'll get ready just in case," Alicia said, going over to her work area. Jacob leaned to one side so he could still see her.

"So I take it this letter was more helpful?" he asked curiously.

"I think I understand what he was trying to tell me now," Alicia said, pulling out the last of her canvas. "In fact, I'm certain of it."

Alicia feverishly worked at placing what was left of her canvas around a small and large frame, then after looking them over, opted for the smaller one. Tossing off the one in the center of the room as if it held no consequence to her, she meticulously adjusted the easel to the frame and then worked at going over her paints and brushes, then spent the rest of the day cleaning her equipment, salvaging frames from failed attempts, leaving only her first attempt. At the time she wasn't quite sure why she hadn't thrown it in the bonfire…but now, it seemed to make sense, for now she could gage how long she had come. Nodding to herself, she was at last ready, reading over the letter once more and putting it in her pocket before settling on the couch for a nap. A few hours later, she was awakened by a gentle hand on her shoulder; Jacob's grin was louder than words.

"Turned south?"

"And the winds are already starting to dip. I'd move if I were you," he recommended, and she immediately jumped up and threw on her outerwear. "Wait, not that fast!" he laughed. "At least eat first!"

"No, not this time, I'm not taking any chances," Alicia said, hurrying to the entrance for her mukluks.

"I don't think I've seen you this determined in some time," he said. "You know, you should still have a bit before it breaks."

"Doesn't matter," Alicia said, gesturing to her easel to follow before hurrying out the door.

"Doesn't matter?" Jacob repeated, mystified. He put on the teakettle and threw together some sandwiches, knowing she wasn't likely to stop and eat unless it was something she could manage one handed. His magnetic reader went off then and he had to pause to write down the figures, losing track of the time.

Alicia was too busy with her work to notice, feverishly and yet meticulously matching the colors of the descending twilight and plotting the stars and wisps of clouds moving in the distance. So many times she had seen that sky that it had become second nature to paint it and its nuances, and even as the temperature dropped and the quiet overpowered the night it did not seem as overbearing as it had in the past. She almost felt the glow in the sky before she looked up from her painting, but she only gave it a passing glance, concentrating instead on the silhouettes of the clouds and the descending darkness.

Jacob hurried out then as the aurora began to spread, carrying a folding stool in one hand and the plate in the other. He set it up beside Alicia with a frown as he gazed at her painting. Without a word, he went back in for his cameras and back out to set them up, glancing every now and then at Alicia's painting and only getting a couple of shutter snaps before he couldn't help but come over to stare at it. He poured her a cup of tea from the kettle and held it out to her, and distractedly she took it, the brush never leaving the canvas.

"Good color tonight, isn't it? I love it when is has layer of red in it, don't you?" Jacob said.

"Yes, it's pretty," Alicia said, drinking the tea much faster than Jacob would have considering how hot it was then pushing the cup back at him, dipping her brush into her darkest grey.

"Well, aren't you going to paint it? At all?"

"I am painting it," Alicia said, adding the paint into the foreground where the island met the sea. Jacob frowned and watched a moment more before walking back over to the cameras. Well, he at least was going to get as many images as he could, he decided. He had used up several rolls of film and reluctantly resorted to putting on his second layer of gloves, glancing at Alicia's painting now and then, frowning when he didn't see much progress. At last, camera spent and the aurora fading into a soft glowing haze he went back over to see the plate of sandwiches gone but not more changed except for the meticulous detail of the clouds and sky.

"Getting rather late. Coming in?" he asked.

"When I'm done," Alicia said.

"Right, well, I'm going in to check the readings, they should be starting to normalize," he said. When she didn't answer he went back inside. "Artists," he sighed, tripping over one of his meters as he made his way to his telescope.

Alicia awoke the next day to find that she had fallen asleep in her mukluks and kicked them off her feet, pulling off her damp socks underneath and thought of falling back to sleep had the bottom of her blankets not been wet from her boots. Reluctantly she sat up, rubbing her eyes and reaching for the clock to see it was nearly noon. Slowly she pulled herself together and got out of bed, looking around until she finally spotted Jacob asleep at his desk. Shaking her head with a slight smile, she finally looked around to see her easel was busy attempting to walk through the couch. Suddenly alarmed and grateful it hadn't run into the fireplace, Alicia snapped it to, running over to rescue her painting.

As she turned it around, a glow hit her face.

"Jacob! Jacob, wake up you have to come see it!" Alicia shrieked with such enthusiasm that Jacob leapt up thinking something was dreadfully wrong, leaping over his equipment and tumbling away into the living area, both haggard and alert. But as he turned to see what she was looking out, his surprised expression turned into one of wonder and awe. For there, dancing the entire expanse of the horizon that Alicia had so meticulously painted the night before, was the Aurora Borealis exactly as it had been that night.

"You did it! Alicia, you did it! I have no idea how you did it, but there it is, I don't believe it!" Hugging her enthusiastically.

"I can hardly believe it either!" Alicia laughed, hugging him back before turning back to her painting. "I couldn't paint the light, Jacob, that was what was messing it up, it always looked fake…the magic of it all just seemed to fade. But I knew I could paint everything else…I had to just paint all the elements and hope it was good enough that the aurora would appear…"

"Absolutely the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed!" Jacob agreed. "You truly are gifted in your art, Alicia!"

"I never would have gotten it if it hadn't been for those letters. Now I understand the whole part about discovering it instead of uncovering it meant," Alicia said, pulling out a box with a special brush in it, adding her name to the corner. "I've got to find him, find some way of thanking him for helping me."

"That's easy enough, why don't you give him the painting, now you know how to recreate it," Jacob suggested.

"Oh no, this one's yours," Alicia said, gently turning the painting over. Jacob blinked at her.

"I couldn't accept this!"

"Well, you'd better, I've already put your name on it," she grinned. "'To Jacob Greencastle, for his hospitality, patience, and insight. From his dear friend, Alicia Snape,'" she said as she painted it to the back with her special brush. "Don't worry, the inscription shouldn't hurt the value if you ever decide to sell it."

"Thank you, but I would never, Alicia!" Jacob added sincerely, feeling a bit awkward.

"Don't knock it, it might make a decent down payment on this place if Zoë decides to dispute it," Alicia grinned, using her wand to dry off her mukluks. "Need anything from town? Or you coming with me?"

"I can't. I missed my morning readings as it is," Jacob said with regret. "Try…try one of the shops by the Chocolate Elf," he said, belatedly remembering his promise.

"Thank you," Alicia said, hugging him one last time before Apparating. Jacob put his hands in his pockets and stood there for a moment with a lost expression. But then his eye caught the sight of the aurora in the painting as it shimmered and he smiled softly, wandering back over to his desk.

As Alicia Disapparated into Reindeer Circle, she was suddenly taken aback, for the fountain had been turned into a tower of giant jack-o'-lanterns. Strings of orange lights on black garland was strung everywhere, while vendors swarmed the streets selling everything from treat bags to costumes to tacky Halloween souvenirs.

"Good grief, is it that time of year already?" Alicia said in surprise, walking over to where a Polar Elf was selling candy apples dipped in caramel and licorice beetles. "Excuse me, what's the date?"

"You're joking, right?" he said, looking her up and down.

"I guess I just lost track of the time," Alicia said sheepishly. "Do you know a gift shop that around here that sells paintings of the Aurora Borealis?"

"Sure, pick any street," the Elf shrugged. "Though I hear Bott's Emporium has some nice ones."

"Thanks," Alicia said, feeling obligated to buying one of the candy apples, passing it to the first kid she saw without one as she wandered down the packed streets. It was insanely crowded with tourists making it difficult to maneuver, especially past those wearing some of the wilder costumes. How was she ever going to find it in this mess, she wondered, ending up having to ask several more vendors and receiving several more parcels before finally getting to the Emporium.

The moment she glanced in the window and saw the painting behind the counter, she knew for certain she had the right shop. She fought her way in slipped past the countless browsers to get closer. But as she came nearer, the style of the painting sent a wave of chills down her back, and as she ran up to it and examined the strokes she felt her heart in her throat, barely able to breathe.

"May I help you, miss?" asked a primly dressed witch clerk, gazing at her disapprovingly for coming behind the counter.

"It can't be!" she said out loud in disbelief. "It can't be, but it is! It's a Francis Pyther!"

"Actually, this particular painting was done by one of our local artists, Mr. Franks, as you can see by the signature."

"I don't care how it's signed. I know a Francis Pyther when I see one," Alicia said impatiently. "It's also under-priced."

"Perhaps if it were a Pyther you would be correct, but I assure you, this painting was done by Marion Franks."

"That just further proves its Pyther," Alicia said. "Marion is his middle name. I know, I named my familiar after him…which I probably shouldn't have admitted in public…okay that was embarrassing," she said, shaking her head at herself.

"I don't ever recollect hearing that particular artist having a middle name, and if it is, it is probably a mere coincidence. But I realize it's very common for collectors to mistake artists of similar style for one another, but as an authorized dealer, I can assure you it is not a Francis Pyther."

"That's what you think. I know his brush strokes as well as I do my own. It's as unique as a fingerprint," Alicia said.

"Oh, I see, you're in art student then?"

"I'm Alicia Snape," Alicia said, feeling her temperature rise.

"Yes, I'm sure you are," the witch said without an ounce of belief. "Now, if you would kindly step back around the counter?"

"Not until you tell me where this painting came from!" Alicia said angrily.

"If you don't leave now, I am going to call the local authority! We don't take this sort of naughtiness in this town!" the witch scolded her. "Leave now or you'll find yourself shoveling coal."

"If I have to shovel it, you're eating it," Alicia swore, a dangerous look in her eye.

"What in Hell's Fire is going on here?" a voice rang out that made all the employees in the shop jump and the customers move well out of the way of the door. Xavier Platt strode further in, glancing over at Alicia who had her hand less than an inch away from her wand.

"This woman is being quite difficult, Mr. Platt, I was about to have her escorted out," the witch said.

"Over my dead body, she was," Alicia snarled.

"Owena, I don't think trying to have her removed would be in your best interests, health wise or job wise," Xavier advised the clerk. The witch looked more than a little surprised, somehow still managing to nod and take a step back as Xavier came forward. "What's up, Alicia?"

"I only want to know where the Francis Pyther painting came from," Alicia said.

"It's a Marion Franks," Owena murmured. Xavier turned to look at the clerk.

"If Alicia Snape says it's a Francis Pyther, it's a Francis Pyther," Xavier said. "I suggest you get her the address, Owena. Nobody in one's right mind would piss off a Snape. Sorry, Alicia, I would have told you if I had known; I simply handle candy distribution out here…"

"It's all right, Xavier, thanks," Alicia said.

"It's nothing," Xavier said, watching Owena write out the address. "Your sister's well?"

"Alex is great. She's expecting," Alicia said.

"Yes, I heard. I always knew she wanted kids," Xavier admitted distantly, waiting for Owena to pass over the address and glancing at it. "Holly End is four streets down on the right leaving the shop, Alicia."

"Thanks, got to run! I'll let Alex know you're doing well too," Alicia said with a smile. "Happy Halloween."

"Same," he said with a slight shrug, waving as she left. He shook his head. "I swear, one can travel to the farthest reaches of this stupid planet and no matter where you go, you'll still run into those damn Snapes," Xavier said with exasperation before turning his attention to the shop.

Alicia sped down the street, not knowing why she was in such a hurry. Was he likely to go anywhere? Was he likely to run? Probably more likely to faint, she thought with a wide grin, growing more nervous by the minute. She knew which was his studio before she had even gotten there, for it looked quite a bit like the one he had in Hogsmeade, if not quite as big. She stared at it for a moment, shivering, and half wondering if her feet could even move her closer. It was then that she happened to put her hands in her pockets and felt the note. A flush came to her cheeks as it hit her full force that just as the painting was his, the notes were his as well, and found herself reading it as if for the very first time, seeing subtle references that she had missed not knowing it was him. Unfortunately, that only succeeded in making her more nervous, and with frustration she folded it back up and put it in her pocket, staring at the door.

It was time. Past time. And the next move was obviously hers. He had written her, after all…so he couldn't be too surprised to see her, nor would he have written if he didn't want to see her. Then why didn't he just come? Alicia sighed in resignation, admitting to herself that Pyther would be even more nervous than she was, and somehow that realization gave her enough motivation to push herself forward and walk through the door.

She felt an excited tingle as she entered the studio, her eyes taking in every painting. He, too, seemed to have moved towards doing mainly scenery over the last few years, for most were of the aurora or moonlit landscapes over icy waters, except for one somewhat fanciful one of a colony of penguins, marked with a plate labeled, "South Orkney Islands, Argentina."

"May I help you, miss?" said a voice that made her jump, and she looked around to see an elderly male Polar Elf, eyeing her thoughtfully.

"Yes, I would like to see Francis Pyther," Alicia said. "I'm…I'm an old friend."

"Mr. Franks is not here at the moment," the Elf said without missing a beat. Alicia stared at him in disbelief.

"He's not here?"

"I'm afraid I'm not expecting him back for hours."

"Hours? Where would he be gone for hours? Perhaps he's asleep?" Alicia asked with a frown.

"I'm sorry, miss, but he does have limited time lately. Perhaps I could make an appointment?" he asked.

"I can't imagine what his reaction would be to see my name in his appointment book," Alicia said with exasperation and then paused, her eyes darting around the room. "Um…could you tell me perhaps…I heard that Mr. Pyther had a strange geometric painting…would you know if he still has it?"

"I'm not quite sure if he does or not, but it's not in the studio, of that I'm positive," the Elf said.

"Well! That's something," Alicia said, her mind racing. "All right, thank you."

"Will there be a message, miss?" he asked.

"Um, no, I think I'll just try calling again," Alicia said with a smile, backing towards the door.

Suddenly she spun around and headed out, pulling out a piece of paper from her pocket and looking around for a service alley to step into as she quickly sketched a picture, trying not to rush too quickly and keep calm despite the fact her heart was racing rapidly. Taking one last look around her, Alicia stepped into the sketch, wasting no time to jump into the next frame…only to find herself back in the sketch itself. She stared at the sketch, and the sketch of Pyther stared back, smiling sadly and shaking his head at her. Screaming, she tried several more times to jump out of the sketch before she finally gave up, stepping back out and stomping on it in frustration.

"I don't believe it! How can I be this close and still come up short?" she shouted, pulling her hair. A door opened, and a stockroom Elf peered out the door, gazing up at her curiously.

"Trick or treat," she said sarcastically, picking up the sketch and stuffing it in her pocket before walking out of the alley. The Elf shook his head in confusion before he walked back inside his shop, muttering something about tourists.


	18. Balls, Bats, and Throwing Strikes

Chapter Eighteen

Balls, Bats, and Throwing Strikes

Jennifer opened her eyes at the sound of a familiar knock, sitting up as Severus stepped into her office.

"I see your using your conference time productively," he said, shutting the door.

"Oh, have a heart, Severus, you know how late I was up last night," Jennifer protested. "And for what? Not a single one of the formulas did anything…well, except for the one with Descartes' bile in it, that one stripped the paint. But you know, the moment Pyther put even a single coat on it to keep the acid from spreading, the clouded surface filled back over it."

"I can't say it completely surprises me," Severus said, looking through the glazes still sitting on her desk. "Considering that Pyther's assessment seems to be correct in that they contract it by moving about, this must be something more than a physical problem with the paint."

"And yet, I wonder if there isn't a residue of sorts," Jennifer murmured, and Severus gazed at her quizzically. "Well, it didn't occur to me until just now, but every infected painting we've found seemed dusty."

"That's rather common, though, isn't it?" Severus said with a frown.

"Well, yes and no…this began just before school when John and the House Elves were detailing the entire castle, and yet since Pyther's been about he's been dusting everything. Well, it's probably just me grasping for straws, come to think of it…" Jennifer admitted.

"Still, no harm in running some tests on it, Jennifer," Severus mused. "Perhaps I'll do it, you have enough to contend with what with the Spectral Ball tonight, and the Hufflepuff-Gryffindor game this weekend."

"Thanks for the reminder," Jennifer said dryly, turning over her coffee pot.

"I should also warn you to expect some of the board members to show tonight as well," Severus said. "Partially for the ball, but I expect they'll want a tour of the damage."

"Lovely, quite lovely," Jennifer muttered.

"Yes, well, since Erik Dalance is back in the chairman seat, we should at least have one friend here. Besides, Hermione and I will be handling that part of it, so you just concentrate on security and keeping the students in line. Tonks has volunteered to help out with that, and I'm sure the rest of the staff will be in and out, and of course, Corey's band will be playing, so I seriously doubt anything will come up that can't be quickly diffused," Severus said.

"Well, I suppose, but I hope you talked to Caprica," Jennifer said. "Remember how wild she used to get on Halloween after the students were sent to their rooms?"

"Vividly, but there will be none of that this year," Severus said firmly. "We have enough to contend with, and I have spoken to her about the risks countless times…"

"And you're trying to reason with a half-Pooka," Jennifer reminded him. Severus grew quiet.

"I wonder if there's a way to chain her to the wall?" he wondered out loud.

Constance Weasley tossed her books in her room and hurried down the stairs, passing groups of excited students relieved to get out of class and chatting about the ball. With her cousins all having dates it was easy to slip away, making a quick stop on the second floor before heading to the Great Hall. Not very many students had gotten there yet; just a handful that hadn't had class the last hour and had volunteered to help get the Great Hall ready. She did nearly bump into Pimra Glass, who had rushed in nearly the same time that she had. They both stepped further in, immediately finding their attention drawn to the center of the room where Madame Brittle, her husband, Corey Willowby and Doug Brim were setting up their equipment.

"Wow, it's them," both of the girls said at once. Taken aback, they stared at each other.

"You too?" they both said, and then grinned.

"Trophy Room painting?" Pimra asked in a low voice. Connie shook her head.

"Painting in the back of Craw's new classroom," Connie explained. "There's one in the Trophy Room?"

"There's one in the Potions room?" Pimra asked.

"You can only see it from the back row," Connie explained, nodding to the band. "Painting of them, well, painting. What did they do to merit being in the Trophy room?"

"I don't know, they're just playing cards," Pimra whispered back. "Come on, we should go talk somewhere."

"Yeah, we should," Connie agreed, pulling her over to a section of chairs near the back.

Not long after the two girls got settled, Jennifer strode in, smiling warmly as she went over to the band and gave hugs all around, gazing at them in amusement when she saw what they were wearing.

"Still have those, do you?" she asked.

"We might as well get some use out of them," Corey said, straightening his musketeer outfit with a grin. "You alright though? You look a bit tired."

"I am, but I'll be fine," Jennifer said. "I'm sure your music will keep me awake."

"Ha, ha, very funny, Mom," Corey said, the rest of the band grinning knowingly. "Don't knock free entertainment, you guys have enough to worry about right now."

"You know we appreciate it, Corey," Jennifer chuckled at him. "I need to go do door security. The wolves are going to be prowling tonight."

"Speaking of which, there's a couple of them now," Corey said mischievously. Jennifer looked over to see Carol and Remus walk in, chatting with John Carnegie.

"I didn't mean them," Jennifer said in a tone that made Corey look even more amused as she went over to greet them.

"Good evening, everyone!" Sally Scribe said as she came over to the band, getting greetings in return. "Um, Corey, if you need anyone for some vocals tonight, I have this one student, brilliant with music, actually, his father was a talent agent in the States…"

"Hey, are you criticizing our music too?" Corey protested with a laugh.

"Well…your playing has gotten much better over the years," Sally said, nodding to them encouragingly. Doug smirked.

"She's saying you still croak like sick frog, Athos…" Doug said.

"You stay out of it, Porthos," Corey snapped.

"Um, well, no, Corey's not that bad, but it might give you a chance later in the evening to…um…rest your voice?" Sally suggested.

"Fine, fine, send him along second set," Corey said with exasperation, glancing at Taylor who was pretending not to notice. "Well, so much for your idea of playing it straight this time. They even complain with the Liquid Inspiration!"

"She's right, though, we have gotten better," Danny said with amusement.

"I still think we ought to try it without the potion. Let's just skip the slow stuff and go to the fast ones, the mistakes are less obvious," Taylor advised.

"Sure, but you get to explain it to Mom when she doesn't get a waltz," Corey said with a grin.

"In other words, we're not getting out of the slow ones, Aramis," Danny teased him. She and the others stopped to wave as Andrew stepped in with Ginger Davidson on his arm.

"What, they're still dating? I thought she gave up on him," Doug said, glancing at Corey.

"She has. Several times," Corey said dryly.

"Maybe he's finally ready to settle down or something?" Taylor suggested, but the other three shook their heads at him.

"The only reason she's probably here at the moment is it's because she's the only girlfriend he's got in that book of his that Mom and Dad even remotely approve of," Corey said. "Although why she goes along with it is beyond me."

"Love does strange things to people," Doug commented. "I'm sure it'll bite him in the butt sooner or later."

"The voice of experience," Taylor said, the three of them grinning at Doug. "Look, there's Zack and Juliet, wow, she's coming along, isn't she? Thought they were due same time Essie is…"

"Wow, is that who I think it is?" Corey said, standing up straight and putting down his guitar when he saw Francis Pyther standing with them. "What is he doing here?"

"Your father invited him," Danny said. "We've been having some problems with the paintings recently…"

"Well, I'm not waiting another minute, let's go over," Corey said, Doug and Taylor enthusiastically agreeing, the four of them walking over together.

As they approached, Francis looked up like a startled rabbit but instantly broke into a warm smile when he saw whom it was. Suddenly Corey dropped to one knee and pulled out his sword, pointing it towards the floor.

"Monsieur Pyther, peitre de maître, our swords are yours to command," Corey said sincerely, the other three solemn in response.

"Mister Willowby. How I've missed you four!" Francis said with beaming pride. "And how good it is to see you all together again!"

"Professor Snape always calls on us when he's desperate for cheap entertainment," Doug explained with a grin.

"Yeah, really desperate," Taylor said dryly.

"Now, don't belittle yourselves, I find it positively amazing that you're still playing at all," Francis said insistently.

"It's as good excuse as any to get together and keep in touch, not to mention get away from the kids for awhile," Corey said with a grin. "So…does my sister know you're here?"

"Er…no, not really, Corey," Francis admitted, lowering his voice. "I am at Hogwarts for professional reasons, not personal ones, and I believe the Headmaster wants to keep it that way."

"Yes, he would," Corey snorts.

"Please, Corey," Francis said in an insistent tone. "Let me handle this in my own way." Corey gazed at him searchingly.

"All right," he said at last, shrugging. "Just don't forget she inherited Mom's temper. Welcome back, Pyther," he added, offering his hand. The others did the same before heading back to the stage. It was Remus and Carol who came over next, Remus offering Francis a hand as well.

"It is good to see you again," Remus said. "I had heard from Jennifer you were here. How goes the investigation with the paintings?"

"I would say that we seem to be eliminating causes rather than finding one," Francis admitted.

"Well, that is still progress, after all," Remus said with a smile. "I don't suppose after all of that is done you'd be open for some commission work?"

"I'm always available for friends," Francis said with a nod and a smile, handing him a card. "I'm at the northern address this time of year."

"Thank you. Taken to cold climates, have we?"

"Yes, well, the long nights give me one less thing to worry about, after all," Francis said.

"I can appreciate that," Remus said, and then glanced at his wife who had moved a bit to look at the door.

"There's our bonnie girl now, Remus, and with friends! See, there was little to worry about!" Carol declared, waving to her. Laura glanced over briefly then pretended not to notice them, moving further in with Lindsay and Helena, while Lucky and Ambrose came in behind. Carol excused herself and walked over to them, but Remus hadn't missed Laura's reaction.

"Shall we join them? I wouldn't mind a word with Ambrose myself," Francis suggested.

"Why don't you go ahead? I need to go pay my respects to a couple more people first," Remus said.

"I will see you later then," Francis smiled. "Feel free to contact me whenever you like about the painting."

"Thank you," Remus said, then wandered a bit to look for Sirius.

The Hall was quickly starting to fill up with students and ghosts now, but so far seemed to be rather sparing on the staff itself. Remus then noticed Tonks near the punch table talking with some students and walked over in that direction. She saw him and attempted to wave, bumping into the table in the process. Fortunately, the students around her had been waiting for something like this to happen, and Terrence quickly jumped in and caught the punch bowl before it could fall but getting soaked in the process. The laughter of the students drowned out the apologies, while Terrence simply grinned and told her it was all right.

"Here, allow me," Remus said, pulling out his wand and with a quick flick bringing Terrence's robes back to order.

"Thanks, Mr. Lupin," Terrence said, a bit relieved that his new robes weren't ruined. "I'd better go find the Fat Friar. I promised to listen to his ghost stories tonight…although they would be a lot scarier if he didn't keep tacking on some sort of moral at the end," Terrence said, quickly grabbing his drink. "Especially when they have nothing to do with the story." Tonks chuckled at him and carefully made her way out from behind the table.

"I came over to thank you. Jennifer tells me you're the one that came to her about the book," Remus said in a low voice. Tonks shook her head with a thin smile.

"It was nothing, Moony."

"Well, perhaps not to you but it was everything to me," Remus said, searching the crowd for Carol and Laura. "Of course, Laura does seem to be a bit angry at me at the moment."

"I'm sure she'll get over it soon enough," Tonks assured him. "And you'll be happy to know she's passing my class, too."

"Of course," Remus said.

"Of course, nothing. More than half my students are failing this year," Tonks said dryly. "In fact, if your daughter hadn't taken to tutoring Lucky Snape, she wouldn't be passing Defense this year either."

"That sounds like it would have been a most decidedly unpleasant experience," Remus said with a curled smile.

"Yes, so as far as that goes, I owe her," Tonks said, gazing off into the distance. "She's made a lot of friends too. She seems pretty content with her life, well adjusted too."

"More or less, for someone beginning her teens," Remus agreed.

"So…you were wrong then," Tonks said, still not looking at him. Remus wasn't in much of a hurry to look at her either, gazing instead at where Laura and Carol were standing.

"Yes, I was wrong," Remus agreed quietly, growing thoughtful. "Tonks…"

"No, no, that's all I wanted to hear," Tonks said with a smile. "I should check in with Jennifer, see who all has arrived so far," she said walking away, barely bumping into anyone. Remus stood there looking after her for a moment before making his way back over to his wife and daughter.

By the time Tonks got over there, the Four Winds were strumming a bit, talking over that night's set, and Jennifer began wishing she wasn't stuck at the door. Anna was there keeping her company, as well as getting her caught up on Zoë.

"She's dating a Quidditch player from Polaris Town," Anna said with a sigh, waving to Tonks. "He's a bit of a flake…Sirius doesn't trust him, and Zack can't stand him."

"Everyone seemed to like the last one, didn't they?" Jennifer asked.

"Everyone but Zoë, apparently," Anna said dryly.

"Where are Sirius and Zack anyhow?" Tonks wondered.

"Oh, Sirius is down in the dungeon with Severus and some of the board, they'll be up later," Jennifer explained. "And I saw Zack and Juliet heading to the kitchen to track down Peeves."

"Can't have a Ghost Ball without the pie fight at the end," Tonks grinned.

"The trouble is getting Peeves to wait until the end," Jennifer chuckled, and then took a step away to greet Ginger and Andrew. "Hello, Ginger, good to see you! How are things at the Ministry?"

"Strangely quiet," Ginger grinned.

"In other words, my Father's at the mine this week," Jennifer said knowingly.

"Yes, that, and Draco is still brooding over the business with Mary and doesn't talk to anyone unless he absolutely has to," Ginger said.

"Still? But that was months ago! I should try to get Severus to talk to him," Jennifer sighed. "Anyone talked to Harry lately?"

"Well, he still doesn't like it, but he's adjusting," Tonks reassured her. "Personally, I've always liked Mary. I think they look well together…but it was such a pain to keep them apart during school."

"Tell me about it," Jennifer chuckled. "Talk about fighting a losing battle."

"You mean like the one with the board?" Hermione put in, walking up with Ron at her side.

"I thought you were downstairs with them," Anna said.

"I needed some air," Hermione said. "The Coventrys keep questioning Sirius on whether or not certain changes are necessary or not."

"Too bad I wasn't down there, I'd have asked them if solid gold beaker racks are necessary for the potion kits they keep in their hotel suites," Jennifer said.

"Trust me, Jennifer, you do not want to go down there. If Chairman Dalance wasn't down there to balance those two a bit, I'd probably have strangled Mrs. Coventry for sure," Hermione admitted.

"She could have gotten away with it too, she could just blame her recent mood swings," Ron said. Hermione gave him a dirty look.

"Well, don't fret too much about it, Hermione. Whatever the board won't cover, Severus and I will," Jennifer said.

"Oh, not again! You know how I feel about that, Jennifer…" Hermione scolded.

"If it can't be helped, it can't be helped," Jennifer said. "Besides, you know Severus wants us to keep things as civil as possible with them until he can make a case against the books."

"When you meet them, Jennifer, you are going to change your mind," Hermione warned her. "Mr. Coventry is only a stickler for money. His wife is a stickler for everything."

"If they're on the board they must care about the school…in some fashion," Jennifer amended when she saw the look on Hermione's face. "We could at least try to give them the benefit of the doubt?" Fortunately for Jennifer, the music started just then. Andrew was quick to excuse himself and put a hand out to Ginger, working their way out onto the floor.

"Hey, Professor Andrew!" Ambrose said as they passed the punch bowl, gesturing behind him at the four girls standing with him. "Looks like I'm the one with the four dates tonight!" Andrew grimaced, somehow managing to turn it into a smile, while Ginger's face darkened in sheer annoyance. Behind Ambrose, Lucky and the others began a lengthy discussion of how best to dunk Ambrose's head in the punch bowl but still make it look like an accident. "Aw come on, guys, I was teasin' him, not you," he grinned. "Anybody want to dance? Now's probably a good time, because they always play slower music once Snape shows up."

"I was thinking now might be a good time to scope for more members," Lindsay said.

"Boys, right?" Laura murmured to her.

"Either. And what do you think about maybe finding a ghost mascot?" she suggested.

"Ya know, that's not a bad idea," Lucky shrugged. "They have that adopt a ghost program that sponsors these, right?"

"Right, so maybe there's one that'd be interested," Lindsay said with a nod. "Then one of us can adopt them."

"Sounds like fun to me!" Ambrose agreed. "Let's split up and see what we can find!"

"I'll go with you, Ambrose," Helena said.

"Come on then, I've already got an idea," Ambrose said, dragging her off into the crowd.

"Come on, Laura," Lindsay said, taking off in another direction. Lucky frowned a moment, putting her hands on her hips.

"Hey!" Lucky exclaimed in annoyance. Suddenly someone came up behind her, putting his arm through one of hers.

"Oh, look who's free! Come on, Lucky, let's dance," Dale said with a grin, ignoring the look of alarm on her face.

"With you? Yeah right…"

"What's wrong? You can't dance?" he taunted her.

"Yeah, I just don't do whatever it is they're trying to do…" Lucky said, gesturing at the pack of randomly gyrating students.

"So pick your potion," he laughed. "Waltz, tango, mambo…line dance…disco…"

"Disco?" Lucky repeated with disgust. "You are such a geek, man…"

"No, I just have very eclectic tastes," Dale said. "And I bet I'm not the only one, either!" he said, looking around and then noticed Francis heading towards the fireplace. "Mr. Pyther! Do you know how to disco?"

"Of course I do, I'm a vampire," Francis said, a bit surprised at the question as he made his way past them.

"See?" Dale said, having a hard time keeping a straight face as he turned his attention back to Lucky. "Nothing wrong with being well rounded, is there?"

"Ya, well, I don't want to hear about your personal problems," Lucky said.

"Well, what do you know, then?" Dale challenged her.

"Where I come from, we salsa…"

"I can do that," Dale said, ignoring her dubious look and pulling her over. "Come on, one dance and I'll leave you alone the rest of the night. Otherwise, I will guarantee you I won't leave you one moment's peace the rest of the evening…"

"Okay! Okay! This is blackmail, though," Lucky glowered at him. "And this isn't the right music."

"Consider it fixed…" Dale said, pushing his way through the crowd and over to the band, waiting as they finished the latest Weird Sisters hit before getting their attention.

"It's not the second set yet, Mr. Chance," Danny frowned at him.

"I need a big favor. Know any salsa?" he asked.

"What, like taco sauce?" Doug asked.

"We have enough trouble playing rock," Taylor chuckled. Dale snapped his fingers repeatedly, trying to think, looking at Lucky who was already glancing around looking for an excuse to bolt.

"How about some Gloria Estafan? Rhythm is Gonna Get You? That might work."

"Nope," Danny said.

"Not really," Taylor said.

"Yep," Corey said. The two of them gave him a dirty look.

"I sorta know it," Doug admitted.

"Well, you're percussion, so it's up to you," Corey said. Doug glanced at him a moment then took his emergency [phial of Liquid Inspiration. "I'll take it that's a yes," he said with amusement.

"Thank you! I owe you one!" Dale said enthusiastically, pushing his way out.

"So who's the girl, you think?" Taylor asked.

"Oh, I know who it is," Danny said dryly. "Along with half the school."

"Considering the request, so do I now," Corey said with amusement. "Let's just hope the board keeps Dad in the dungeon a while longer so he isn't tempted to put me in it." Danny grinned at him knowingly, waiting for the cue from Doug.

Dale ran over and grabbed Lucky's hand before she disappeared to find her friends, pointing at the ground firmly.

"It's not going to kill you to be hospitable one night, it's not like anybody's going to notice," Dale said, offering his other hand.

"Just don't travel and don't embarrass me!" Lucky snapped, reluctantly taking his other hand.

The students on the floor blinked at the sudden change of pace, a few of them by Dale and Lucky turning to stare at them. A moment later, Gary March was leading Anita Avani in an awkward salsa of their own, his old brother and his date doing a considerably better job. A smattering other couples joined in, while most settled for what they were doing before.

Tonks tugged on Jennifer's sleeve and whispered in her ear, and Jennifer searched the crowd until she saw where Lucky and Dale were and grinned widely. A few feet away, Lindsay and Laura were also watching…mostly Dale…wearing rather dreamy, vacant expressions.

It was only inevitable that Severus, Erik Dalance and the Coventrys would come in the back door just then, Severus stopping abruptly upon seeing his youngest daughter twirling about at the edge of the crowd and moving in a way he most decidedly didn't approve of. It was then he noticed who she was dancing with and the look on his face.

"Dear Lord, I'm losing another one and I've only had this one a year," Severus murmured under his breath. Standing beside him, Erik looked slightly amused, but hid it when Severus recovered, pretending not to have heard him.

"I don't suppose your wife is in that mess somewhere?" Mrs. Coventry asked dubiously.

"Hardly," Severus said, and began leading them around the edge of the room. He paused when he saw Francis standing near one of the fireplaces and gestured to him to come over. "This is Francis Pyther, I'm sure you've heard of him," he introduced, sounding almost bored. "Mr. Pyther, you know Erik, of course, and this is Abraxas and Regina Coventry. Mr. Pyther has been restoring some paintings for us."

"Really? I don't recall that being in the budget," Regina said, squinting.

"I'm certain Professor Weasley would be glad to point it out to you if you ask," Severus said smoothly. Abraxas ignored the exchange, shaking Francis' hand.

"I am honored to meet such a distinguished artist. My family home has a great many of your earlier works, you know," he said with a smile.

"Thank you, sir," Francis said, bowing to him slightly before taking Erik's hand as well.

"It's good to see you, my friend. Back to stay, I hope?" Erik asked warmly.

"Oh…no…well, frankly I don't know, really," Francis admitted.

"Well, either way, I hope you make it to the Order's winter meeting. I'm sure a great many members would be happy to see you after being gone so long," Erik said.

"Yes, why was it again he was gone for so long?" Regina suddenly asked. Francis gazed at the woman next to Abraxas then…a middle-aged woman with light blonde hair and piercing grey eyes. She had probably been quite beautiful in her day, Francis supposed, and might have been now were it not for the deep frown lines and stress wrinkles that betrayed her sour nature. "I happened to read a vague reference in old board minutes saying he was banned from the school, but I never saw any official reason given short of it being an internal staff incident. Although, there were quite a number of startling rumors going about, as I recall…"

"As it so happens, Regina, the particular staff incident in question involved a dispute between Mr. Pyther and myself over a personal matter," Severus said smoothly before Francis could even attempt a response. "I simply withdrew the objection, and since it was a personal matter, it shouldn't have been any true interest to the board at all with the exception of knowing that he wasn't allowed on the premises for a time."

"Ah, I see, thank you for clearing that up for me, Headmaster," Regina said with a respectful nod, but giving Francis a look that he decidedly didn't like. "I should have guessed it was something trivial, otherwise, you wouldn't have let him anywhere around the school at all, would you? Rumors can be such nasty things, pay no attention to them, Mr. Pyther! And welcome home," she added with a smile.

"Thank you, Mrs. Coventry," Francis said, managing to force a smile of his own. Severus nodded to him and led them closer to the door, leaving Francis to frown after them.

"Wotcher, Francis! All right there?" Tonks asked from where she and Icarus were talking a few steps away.

"She's an absolutely beastly woman," Francis declared in a low but sincere voice.

"Why, Francis, I don't think I've heard you say anything like that about anyone before," Ick mused.

"I heard Hermione saying the same thing," Tonks commented, watching as they paused again because the Coventry twins had gone up to meet their parents. "She said she finally had to leave the room because she couldn't grin and bear it anymore."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure that woman will get what's coming to her when she meets Jennifer," Icarus said casually. Tonks and Francis glanced at each other worriedly.

"He's right, you know," Tonks said. "Even if Jennifer is trying to be on her best behavior, she's not likely to put up with it. Guess there's no way to stop them from meeting each other, is there?"

"We may be able to delay the confrontation, but stopping it is quite another," Icarus said. "Have them play the Ghost Waltz, Francis."

"Very well, Icarus," Francis said, slipping into the crowd. As Icarus faded out of view, Tonks found herself wandering to where the twins were talking with their parents. Severus' eyes were immediately on her when she approached, although his face was expressionless.

"Professor Tonks, Mr. Coventry was curious as to how they were doing in their classes."

"Oh! Um, as well as most of the other students, at least," Tonks said with a wan smile.

"What, is that all?" Abraxas said, attempting to look stern. "I believe I was near the head of the class my first year. You sure you're both putting out your best effort?"

"Yes father," they both said dutifully.

"Well, that's what matters most, I suppose," Abraxas said, mussing up Don's hair despite the boys protests, while his wife looked on disapprovingly.

"They give us too much homework," Mike protested.

"Some of the other students haven't been able to finish theirs," Don explained, giving his brother a dirty look. "We're keeping up, of course."

"Then that's all that matters," Abraxas said. "Now, why don't you both run along, we have some more chatting to do with the Professors, and Christmas holiday will be here before you know it. Oh, don't forget to send your Christmas lists!"

"We won't," Don said, the two boys heading back towards where several Slytherin students were standing watching the band.

"And just how is your little prodigy doing with the new curriculum, Severus?" Regina asked casually, despite the fact she had been meaning to ask since they had arrived.

"Only as well as I expected," Severus answered calmly. Erik looked at him thoughtfully.

"Is he needing much extra tutoring?" she pressed.

"No, not at all, why should he?" Severus asked expressionlessly.

"Perhaps we should go say hello to Jennifer, Severus," Erik suggested quickly. Severus looked over to the door and paused, seeing Hermione and Ron standing there in her place. It was then he noticed the music had been silent for a minute or two and the students had dispersed somewhat as they found more ghostly partners.

"It seems it will have to wait a moment," Severus said as the music began, watching Janus floating out onto the dance floor with his wife.

"Good evening, Headmaster," said the voice of Icarus just before appearing in front of them with a bow.

"Professor Ravenclaw," Severus said in turn.

"Professor Tonks?" Icarus said, holding out a ghostly hand.

"Oh! All right. Thank God for Ultra Lites," Tonks said, carefully activating the slippers.

"It isn't as if I have toes to step on," Icarus complained, but Tonks wasn't about to take any chances as they headed to the floor.

"Isn't that something? Look at all of the castle ghosts! I wish we could have had something like this every year when I was going to school here," Abraxus said.

"I'm surprised Peeves isn't in here causing trouble," Erik chuckled.

"I believe Zacchius Black is in the back keeping him preoccupied," Severus explained. "At the end of the eve, we let Peeves loose and it typically turns into a sort of free-for-all pie fight. I tend to clear out well before then," he added in a low voice, Erik grinning at him in response. "After the Ghost Waltz, they tend to play a few more for the staff, if you're interested in that sort of thing…" Severus said, listening distractedly to the music.

"I would, if I could find a partner," Erik offered.

"I hardly came here to make a public display," Regina said critically.

"Yes, well, then you'll just have to excuse me for a few moments," Severus said. "School tradition," he explained as an afterthought before striding out to the floor to see that Jennifer's eyes had already been looking for him as the waltz came to a close.

"Upstaging me again, are you?" Janus Craw said gruffly, floating back a bit when Severus descended on them.

"Five minutes, all I want at the moment is five minutes," Severus explained, taking Jennifer's hand. Jennifer chuckled at the desperation in his voice, gazing at him sympathetically.

"Are they really as bad as all of that?" Jennifer asked as they began to dance.

"Having them sitting across from me at a table is one thing, putting on my best manners for them here is another matter entirely," Severus answered in a low voice. "Oh, Abraxas is all right, if a bit old fashioned…traditionalist, of course. His wife, however, is very trying and he will take her side if pressed. Promise me you won't let her get to you when you meet her?"

"Really, Severus, I can be just as cordial as the rest of the staff when it comes to that," Jennifer said, and then blinked at what she read in his face. "What do you mean, no I can't be?"

"Only that you tend to take things rather personally," he said with a frown, lifting up her chin. "And the last thing I need is more conflict with the board right now."

"I won't cause you any grief, Professor, but I have news for you. I didn't mean to accept an invitation to dance with the Headmaster, I meant to be dancing with my husband," Jennifer chided him.

"Very well then, may I cut in?" Severus murmured.

"Only if you behave better than he did," Jennifer said mischievously.

Regina watched from the punch table, barely touching the cup her husband gave her as she watched the Snapes on the dance floor with growing irritation. Erik watched for a few minutes with a smile before excusing himself, and the next thing they noticed was him on the dance floor with Tonks.

"Sure you don't want to dance, luv?" Abraxus asked her. "Or perhaps we ought to call it a night, now that we've seen the dungeons and paid our respects…"

"I'm not leaving until I've met the Headmaster's wife, Abraxus," Regina said. "It'd be rude, after all."

"I hardly think they'd take offense, and you know, there are some very good reasons why you shouldn't…" Abraxus reminded her.

"Goodness, Abraxus, you say that as if you're afraid of her," Regina said. Abraxus debated that to himself for a while, but didn't say anything as the music finally came to an end and the band took a break. Severus leaned over and said something in her ear and she laughed in response, and then added something that made her glance at the Coventrys and nod with a smile. In turn, Regina simply looked at them through a pair of spectacles she had on a chain around her neck until the two of them came closer, staring fixedly at Jennifer.

Suddenly the smile and the color washed off Jennifer's face as they came near, as everything behind the woman's stare came barreling at her. It had been a long time since she read anyone quite that clearly before. It had been even longer since she had met someone that made her wish she had never been born with the talent in the first place. She forced herself to try to block it off as they got nearer and Severus began the introductions.

"…And this is Regina Coventry, our newest board member," Severus went on, looking at the expression on his wife's face questioningly.

"Nice to meet you both," Jennifer said with a wan smile.

"And it is good to meet you after all these years, I've heard so much about you," Regina said enthusiastically. Yes, all these years, and here you are, unchanged, how dare you even look at me…Jennifer forced herself to look at Abraxus instead, but he was simply smiling warmly at her, although his face revealed he was a bit worried about his wife. "We just got done looking at what's left of your lab, rather thorough accident, wasn't it?"

"Yes, which is why I wrote that substance addendum, as you'll recall," Severus put in evenly. Jennifer pursed her lips slightly, but didn't say anything.

"Which I heartily supported, Severus, we can't have staff adding to student injury reports, can we?" Regina said flippantly. "We should also add something about better labeling and organization in the lab. It's quite all right…these things can be fixed. That's what we're here for, after all. Are you certain that Mr. Black's estimates aren't a little high? I'm sure my husband can pull some strings and see about getting a second opinion."

"Yes, I'd be happy to do it," Abraxus agreed.

"Thank you, but Sirius Black has offered his services for free, and I've already had dealings with the contractor…they built the research library for us a year ago."

"Oh, yes, I wasn't a member of the board yet at that point, but I do remember Abraxus telling me about it."

"It was very well designed," Abraxus said appreciatively.

"Do many of your staff actually use it?" Regina asked. Jennifer's knuckles went white.

"Unfortunately, with the new agenda this year, time has been quite limited, and many have had to put such pursuits on hold," Severus said.

"Hm, I must admit some of your staff does appear to look a bit strained," she said, glancing at Jennifer's tired appearance.

"I'm afraid it seems to have put a strain on the students as well. Many of them are dropping out of recreational activities and many of the higher years aren't taking so many electives outside of their specialties," Severus mused.

"But that isn't necessarily all that bad of a thing, is it?" Regina asked. "And I do know that all houses have some downtime scheduled during the week for Quidditch practice, do they not?"

"Very little of which are spent out on the Pitch these days, most are stuck indoors studying," Severus said.

"Why, Severus!" Abraxus blinked in surprise. "I do believe this is the first time I've ever heard you come close to saying 'the students are studying too much' in all the years you've been at the school."

"You will not hear me say it. I am merely stating that things have been rather tense in the school. In fact, I have noticed an unusually exorbitant number of letters of students going home for this time of year. Might I inquire if you are getting any unusual feedback from the parents?" Severus asked.

"Unusual, no. In quantity, yes," Abraxus admitted.

"Now, Abraxus, I'm sure when the parents see the progress their children have made this year, things will quiet down," Regina assured him, then glanced at Jennifer. "Do you not agree, Jennifer?"

"Professor Craw," Jennifer said in a steely tone. "And it's not really my place to hazard a guess to how other parents feel about it, Mrs. Coventry."

"Yes, but after all, you're both parents as well. How is your adopted daughter doing?" she asked.

"Lucky is a fighter with little faith in the system," Jennifer said evenly. "As such, she's doing rather well, all things considering."

"Oh yes, that's right, I nearly forgot about the circumstances behind your adopting her, none of the American schools would take her, would they? It's a good thing you stepped in when you did, Severus," Regina said.

"Yes, I must agree," Severus said with a nod.

"How is she dealing with having a brother as a professor, though?" Regina asked. Jennifer's face darkened, attempting to put up some mental walls.

"It hasn't been an issue. After all, she has only known her siblings a year and only known them as adults. I would say it's proved of little consequence," Severus said.

"Let's hope the same can be said when Maurice Craw comes of age and has to sit class with his nephew," Regina said. Severus then caught the look on his wife's face.

"Jennifer, are you all right?" he asked. Jennifer smiled wanly, aware that both the Coventrys were studying her.

"Just tired," she explained, and then turned to them. "I'm sorry if I'm not a good conversationalist, I had a long night last night."

"You poor girl! Honestly, Severus, letting her run on potion fumes like that, for shame!" Regina chided him. Severus was still gazing at Jennifer with concern.

"I haven't taken a potion in several days," Jennifer said quietly, hearing Regina's thoughts now louder than her words.

"It's merely an expression, my dear, I didn't mean to imply anything by it," Regina said smoothly, and then turned to Severus. "Although that does remind me that I meant to ask you what you thought of Abraxus and my proposal for random Tox Testing for the staff. Most schools have a policy on controlled potions these days, you know, and most companies too."

"I believe such a policy would undermine the trust I have been attempting to build with the staff since I've taken over, Regina," Severus said. "And the staff in general is quite adept at keeping tabs on each other. I sincerely doubt anything would come up without my not knowing for too long."

"Now, now, Severus, let's not be naïve," Regina said, tsking. "It can go on a long time before someone recognizes it, no matter how close you are to them. Not that would happen to anyone on the staff, of course, but this way the parents can feel reassured that their children are being protected."

"Professor, do you suppose it would be all right if Professor Tonks took over security for the rest of the evening? I'm afraid the long day has caught up with me," Jennifer said, refusing to look at Regina a moment longer.

"Quite all right, I'll look after things myself," Severus said expressionlessly, waving her off.

"So sorry you're not feeling well, Professor Craw," Abraxus said sincerely.

"Jennifer," she said, taking his offered hand with a smile and ignoring Regina's entirely before turning to walk to the back.

"Well! I wonder what all the was about?" Regina wondered out loud.

Severus didn't answer, watching Jennifer go. Suddenly, there was a loud shattering noise as an ornate mirror over one of the fireplaces broke into thousands of pieces the moment Jennifer passed it, sending several students underneath scrambling in surprise. Without looking back, Jennifer slipped out the door.

It was then that Severus turned to look towards the rest of the room to see every member of staff present was watching him intently. Glancing over to where Andrew and Ginger were standing by the buffet table, Severus nodded once, and Andrew immediately headed out the back door. He then turned and nodded once to Danny and Corey, who quickly got ready for the next set in response. Carnegie was already in movement, heading over to secure the area around the mirror. Erik suddenly appeared out of the crowd and moved over to them, wondering what he had just missed.

"Probably the heat from the fire over time," Abraxus conjectured.

"Rather a pity. Seven years bad luck and all of that," Regina said. "There you are, Chairman!"

"My apologies, I was having a chat with young Ambrose. He's a very remarkable boy," Erik said with a smile. "He also seems to have quite a following of supporters."

"Children always tend to flock around those who stick out from the crowd," Regina said noncommittally. Severus turned to her with both eyebrows raised.

"And just where did you attend school, again?" he asked.

"I was privately tutored," Regina said crisply.

"Well, that explains that notion then," Severus decided, glancing over to see Lucky futilely attempting to teach Ambrose how to dance. He then glanced wistfully to the back door, wishing he could slip away as well, especially a few minutes later when Erik decided to head out for the night and left him alone with the Coventrys.

It hadn't taken Andrew very long to catch up with his mother. She hesitated only a moment when he called out for her, folding her arms and looking in no mood to talk when he walked over to her.

"Are you all right, Mum?" he asked, but she decided not to comment, walking further down the hallway instead. "I can't remember the last time I saw you this upset. It was Regina, wasn't it? Even Francis Pyther had unkind words for her."

"I have never met a more bitter squib in my entire life," Jennifer said angrily. Andrew blinked in surprise.

"Are you certain she's a squib?" Andrew asked.

"Dead certain," Jennifer said miserably. "Her thoughts were so blaringly horrendous I couldn't seem to distance myself from them. I could read so far in that I tried to block myself off from it, but they were so vindictive I could barely stand there."

"Well, from what Pyther and Hermione told me she made her thoughts fairly well known even to non-Truth Seekers," Andrew said. "I can't imagine what you must of went through."

"It was awful, simply awful, Andrew!" Jennifer exclaimed. "It was like she took complete pleasure in dissecting everything she detested in minute detail…from my hair and dress which she thought much too young for me to the way I conducted myself in the lab, from daring to dance with my husband in front of the students to her suppositions that I'm still on painkillers…"

"If you were, we'd have seen it by now, physically if no other way. No lack of aging could save anyone from that…"

"That was the other thing. She's the same age as I am," Jennifer said, putting her hand on her forehead. Andrew pursed his lips thoughtfully. "She's so angry about being the way she is, and a squib, she likes nothing better than to try to make those she feels have an advantage over her feel as…as mortified as she can. She's convinced herself that Sirius is only helping us to siphon off funds, and Severus is not only helping him but siphoning funds for himself. Ambrose was snuck in the school by the staff to prevent a scandal about who the father might be, and we're all tutoring him to prevent it from getting out…Lucky would have been better off in jail somewhere because we brought her over to take advantage of her skills…and Pyther got a hell of a lot closer to a student than he actually did…and that is just the tip of what I saw, Andrew, that's not even touching on some of the passing thoughts she was having about some of the other staff or her opinion of Severus, although to some credit does seem rather afraid of him."

"Yes, well, she'd better be afraid of me, at the moment," Andrew said.

"Ugh…Andrew, please," Jennifer said, feeling deflated. "I'm sorry I went off like that, really. She's…she's just bitter about her life, that's all."

"That doesn't give her the right to treat you or anyone else like dirt, and I plan to give her a piece of my mind," Andrew said firmly.

"No, please, Andrew, really, you know what your Father said about tonight."

"I have no intention of doing or saying anything that would upset him or you any further," Andrew promised her. "But I'm also not going to let her get away with carrying on like this. When you've dated as many women as I have, you learn how to tango with a few witches."

"She isn't a witch," Jennifer pointed out.

"Yes, well, I'm also not going to cuss in front of my mother," Andrew said, kissing her on the cheek. "Now, why don't you go upstairs and try to get some rest so I can let Father know you're all right. I'm sure Pyther will be in no more mood to get any work done tonight than you are."

"Easier said than done, but I'll try," Jennifer said, hugging him. "Just be careful, don't forget who you're talking to."

"Don't worry," Andrew said with a reassuring smile before turning to head back into the Great Hall.

The music had taken a different tone and there was less dancing and more stage crowding, but Andrew was too intent on getting to the front of the Hall where Severus was still standing with the Coventrys to pay much attention to it at that moment. He took a moment to glance at where Ginger was standing near Hermione to gesture for her to wait there before coming closer, nodding to his father the moment Severus looked his way.

"Abraxus, Regina, I don't believe you've met my son yet, this is Professor Andrew," Severus said.

"It is a pleasure to meet you both," Andrew said, then took Regina's hand and kissed it. "Mr. Coventry, you have a lovely wife." Severus blinked, but Abraxus beamed with pride.

"Why, Andrew, you're just as much the charmer as I've heard you were," Regina said with a thin smile. "You look much older than I imagined…your brother still looks like a teenager."

"I blame my father's genes on that," Andrew said, glancing at his father who was looking at him speculatively. "My brother takes more after my mother's side of the family…and of course my mother, being the heir of Ravenclaw, is quite striking herself. Me, I inherited the nose," he said with amusement, glancing at his father who smiled warningly at him.

"And where do you get your wit?" she asked.

"I have no idea," Andrew admitted with a grin. "But I suspect a little from both. So, how do you like our little Halloween soiree?" he asked.

"Rather loud," Abraxus commented. "But fun, too."

"Yes, and it's good for morale, not to mention student-ghost relations. What do you think of student-ghost relations, Regina?" Andrew asked.

"Trivial," Regina said primly. "Actually, I'm more interested in how my twins are doing in you class?"

"Curiously awful, considering they are some of the few students I have that turn their work in on time," Andrew said with a smile. "In fact, their homework completion is probably the only thing keeping me from failing them outright."

"The boys aren't doing well in Transfiguration?" Abraxus frowned.

"Perhaps they simply don't take to your teaching style," Regina said with an acidic smile.

"Perhaps that's it," Andrew agreed. "I can't imagine how it could be anything else since most of the tests are based on the homework. But I wouldn't worry, I'm sure they'll get the gist of it. Eventually." Abraxus furrowed his brow.

"Now, Abraxus, I'm sure the boys are doing perfectly well, at least I hope they are. I'd hate to think the two of them were receiving any unfair treatment here because a staff member doesn't approve of the board's book recommendations," Regina said, gazing at Andrew accusingly.

"I enjoy failing them no more than I enjoy having to fail my little sister, especially considering her marks were more than acceptable last year," Andrew assured them. "I simply answered your question on how they were doing, and my opinion on the books isn't all that important, is it? It's the board that approves what we can use or make suggestions if they're not adequate."

"So it is," Regina said. "Just as it's our job to make certain that all the instructors in the school are performing to the best of their ability…"

"No, Regina, that's the Headmaster's job," Andrew interrupted. "Besides, it isn't as if it's my teaching style you're interested in so much as my life style. Just what suggestions do you have to improve on the morality clause this year?"

"Andrew, don't you have something else you should be doing?" Severus asked him.

"Now that you mention it," Regina said without missing a beat. "You may have been able to keep your exploits out of the gossip column thanks to your parents' influences, and therefore, of course, it's none of our business…were it not for the fact that the students themselves still seem to hear about them."

"It's hardly a secret that I date, Regina, what bachelor doesn't?" Andrew sighed. "I knew a long time ago that were I to become a teacher that I would stay single, rather than find myself in the position of a weekend husband or parent. I spent too many years watching my parents juggle that not to know that it wasn't right for me. But you won't find a student in this school that can name any date I've had this week short of the one I brought tonight. If you can, I will gladly endorse any changes you want to make to that clause. Come to think of it, it's probably one of the few rules someone with no magic ability even has the right to suggest changing." Abraxus and Regina both stared at him in open shock.

"Just what exactly did you mean to imply by that?" Regina asked.

"Hm? I wasn't implying anything, Regina, I was just making idle conversation, weren't you?" Andrew asked. "Now, really, I would no more accuse you of being a squib as you would accuse me of being indiscreet or my mother being anything other than one of the best teachers in this school. We both have too much mutual respect in each other to do something like that, don't we?" he said with a thin smile. "Well, I'd best not keep Ginger waiting any longer, I hate being rude. Have a nice evening," he added as an afterthought before leaving to join his date. Severus stood there for a long while, not daring to break the silence, and Regina seemed in no hurry to do the same as they watched the band for a moment.

"Well! It's been a pleasant evening, but perhaps we ought to call it a night," Abraxus said at last.

"So soon? I believe the pie fight will probably start as soon as this second music set is over," Severus said expressionlessly, but immediately began leading them to the doors.

As they left, Tonks, Pyther and Icarus exchanged a private smile from where they stood near the fireplace, glad that everything seemed diffused now and could turn their attention to the band. Dale Chance had some talent, Tonks had to admit, and even the band had come to the realization that the young teen had become the main event of the evening as everyone had long stopped dancing and was crowding the stage.

"So what next?" Taylor asked, nearly having to shout over the screams of girls still applauding from the last selection. Dale didn't answer at first, searching the crowd until he finally noticed Ambrose and Lucky standing together near the back wall. Ambrose tried to wave but immediately pulled his hand back down, saying something short to him.

"Dale? Any requests, we're almost done here," Corey repeated impatiently. "Got anything for an encore? We've never had one before."

"Know any classic rock? Sixties, Seventies…" Dale fished, the others just staring at him in response. He hesitated, glancing out at the crowd before turning back to them. "Do you know the original version of 'I Think I Love You'?" he finally blurted out.

"Nope," Taylor said.

"Never heard of it," Danny shrugged.

"Sorry mate," Doug said.

"Yep, I know it," Corey said. The other three stared at him. "Well, I do," he said. "Let's try the synchronous spell and I'll lead."

As the band started to play, Icarus suddenly got a strange expression on his face.

"Do you know, I actually remember this," he said to Francis, who looked surprised.

"Remember what?" Francis asked.

"Oh, all of this," Icarus said. "Look over there." Curiously, Pyther looked over to see where Lucky was standing with her arms crossed and a look of such utter distain on her face that she could have been born a Snape, while on the boy on the stage looked over the heads of the rest of the crowd and directly at her.

Just then the Headmaster walked in after walking the Coventrys out, pausing when he saw Dale and followed his gaze. Severus' tired expression turned to one of complete alarm and irritation, putting his hands on his hips and glancing around the room. It was then he spotted Icarus and came storming over. Pyther, more than a little afraid it was him Severus was aiming for, shrank back a bit, while Icarus calmly held his ground.

"Now, look here, Ravenclaw. Did you or did you not tell me some years ago that only one of my children would find their cosmic match?" Severus snapped at him.

"Why, no, Severus, as I recall, I simply told you that only one of your four birth children would. I never meant to imply that any of your adopted children wouldn't," Icarus said calmly, floating away from him. Severus fumed a moment, and then blinked, whirling around.

"'Any?' What do you mean by 'any'? You mean 'either', correct?" Severus asked, but Icarus had his back turned to him, and Severus missed the smile that crept across the ghost's face as he faded out of view. "Come back here!" Severus snapped in frustration.

It was then he spotted Pyther standing to one side with his back to the wall, hoping beyond hope he wouldn't be noticed. Severus squinted at him a moment and chewed on his tongue for a second before growling in annoyance and storming away, leaving Pyther with questions of his own.


	19. Due North

Chapter Nineteen

Due North

Francis Pyther stirred in his sleep, the distinct sound of someone rapping on his vault persistently invading his dreams.

"Jangler, please! I've only gotten in what, an hour or two ago? Let me sleep," Francis complained.

"I'm sorry, sir, but there's someone here to see you," said muffled voice of the Polar Elf.

"Well, tell them I'm not here. Make an appointment or tell them to come back in a few hours," Francis said grumpily. "That's what I pay you for."

"Um, well yes, sir, I already tried that, but she didn't believe me," the muffled voice said. "She left and came back through one of the paintings in the studio and told me she wasn't leaving until she saw you no matter how long she had to wait."

Francis sat up in surprise and hit his head on the top of the vault, laying back down again a moment before using his wand to slide the marble slab aside. Jangler peered over at him in concern but Francis waved him back, sitting up still rubbing his forehead.

"Did you try just telling her I was asleep?"

"Yes, sir, but she simply pulled a stool out of her cloak and made herself comfortable in a corner with a sketch pad and told me that she had waited this long, so a few more hours wouldn't kill her. And when I asked if she wanted an appointment, she said she didn't want to take up your work time but she couldn't very well ask a vampire out to dinner. The girl has a tongue in her, that's for certain," Jangler complained. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to find something clean to wear. All of these have paint stains on them," Francis explained, kicking a pile of dirty clothes away from his wardrobe door to see if there was anything left. Jangler rolled his eyes.

"I take it it's safe to tell her you're up then?"

"Yes…no!" Francis said when Jangler actually attempted to move, and then sighed, rubbing his head again. "Well, I suppose there's no helping it now. This is hardly my idea of a perfect reunion spot, though, I was hoping for something a bit more um…"

"Romantic, sir?"

"Neutral! Somewhere a bit more neutral!" Francis said with a frown, staring into the closet without really seeing it. "But as she said, we very well can't go to dinner, can we? This is an utter disaster just waiting to happen," he murmured, wanting to crawl back into bed.

"Why don't you meet her at Pole Plaza? That's where we Elves normally go for a first date…"

"It is not a date!" Francis said with exasperation. "It's just a meeting of old friends," he explained. Jangler eyed him dubiously. "All right, have her meet me at the Pole, just give me a few hours. Is there still a substorm going on?"

"Another twenty-four hours, from what I understand, sir," Jangler said. "Does it matter? You can't always see it from Pole Plaza."

"No…no of course not. Oh, and can you send some of my clothes to the cleaners? Whatever you can find that doesn't have stains. Oh, and um…make sure I have something that matches," Francis said, ignoring the dirty look he was getting as he climbed back into his vault.

"Am I your receptionist or your nursemaid?" the Elf asked, getting a muffled 'thank you' in response. Muttering under his breath, Jangler headed back down to the studio, bringing a hammer in case she had time to nail her stool to the floor.

On a large patch of permanently frozen sea ice in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, many Muggles…if they could have seen it…would have been quite surprised to discover just how many witches and wizards visited the tall, polished silver pole that stood at the center of Pole Plaza. Tourists and locals from Polaris Town ported in for a lazy afternoon of shopping and recreation in one of the many shops built on the ice, most of which were the Polar Elves themselves. Any given moment was filled with their laughter in one section of the circular park or the other, and the sound of chimes and music boxes floated in the air everywhere the tourists went.

Alicia had gotten there very early, wandering around to get familiar with her settings. She stopped to stare at the brave souls who were deep-sea diving off one of the edges of the ice near a booth renting magically enhanced diving robes, and then finally moved on and stepped into The Ninety, an upscale pub not far from pole center, having a word with the bartender. At the bar itself was a group of four elderly Elves in red and white. They looked more like overgrown gnomes to Alicia, but did her best not to stare, although she was hard pressed not to laugh when she realized they were in a heated debate over whether or not a red nose reindeer was even possible, let alone ever existed.

After getting a few suggestions from the tender, Alicia stepped out again and glanced at her watch, suddenly wondering if Pyther was on the same time zone she was. Deciding to be better safe than sorry, Alicia headed towards the Pole, easily seen from any of the roads that all met in the center like the spokes of a wheel. At that time of year, an ice skating rink was set up around the Pole, causing many of the tourists to gather around the edge and debate whether or not to rent the skates so they could touch the Pole for luck. Others took the safer route and rented brooms instead, flying up to the top and waving as they touched it so others in their party could take pictures.

The Plaza was brilliantly lit with strings of white lights everywhere with occasional red ones thrown in to break them up, mimicking an electric style, despite the fact that Alicia knew they were far from it. She leaned against the side of the rink and watched the skaters for awhile, admiring the colored garb of those on the ice, until at last her artist itch got the better of her and she pulled out her sketchbook and colored pencils.

Absorbed in her work, Alicia lost complete track of the time, too intent to make sure she got as much detail as possible from individual skaters she had chosen before they got tired and decided to leave. She didn't notice when Francis came up and leaned on the rail beside her, but Francis was in no hurry to get her attention.

For although she was easily recognizable enough that he could pick her out of a crowd, it had been a very long time since he had seen her that close. Her face was more slender, more defined now; and her nose looked more like her mother's. She had painstakingly, and rather futilely, attempted to tame the curl in her short hair with pins and barrettes, and the way she had applied her rouge, eye shadow and lipstick betrayed the fact that she wasn't used to wearing it.

She sighed then, looking at her work before glancing at her watch, blinking at it.

"Ah, sh…Pyther!" Alicia said in surprise when she saw him standing next to her with a grin on his face. Alicia hugged him tightly, and Francis gently returned it before stepping back a bit. "Stars, I can't believe I did that, how long have you been standing there?"

"Now, I would never interrupt a fellow artist intent on her work," Francis said with a smile. "May I?" Alicia handed over her sketchbook, feeling a little annoyed about how calm and collected Francis was. It had been eight years…why was he acting as if it'd been yesterday? "Your work has definitely improved, and your style is quite different than I remember," he said, watching it for a moment. "Do you know, I think your movement is better than mine."

"I hardly think it's better than yours," Alicia protested.

"No, no, I really do think in that point your ability has surpassed mine. The movement of your skaters are much more flowing than I could have done. You should try to monopolize it more in your work, and perhaps see if you can hone it even more," he advised, handing it back.

"Well, your subjects have a lot more soul to them than mine," Alicia said, glancing at the sketch again.

"That will come with experience," Francis said, and then noticed her expression change. "And, of course you have to consider the subject matter, since the skaters aren't the main subject, they should blend into the scenery. So, how is your current project going?"

"Oh, I almost forgot! Which, come to think of it, is pretty silly considering that's what got me trying to track you down in the first place…why didn't you tell me who you were?" Alicia suddenly demanded.

"You've haven't answered my question yet," Francis reminded her.

"I got it…I figured it out after your last letter," Alicia said, Francis beaming in response. "I was so excited I popped to town to try to find the artist who helped me and then I saw the painting in the Bott's Emporium and I about fell over when I saw the brush strokes, no nom de plume could possibly hide that. Why use an assumed name?"

"Now, Alicia, I did that just after I left…"

"Fled, you mean…" she said darkly.

"Now, please. If you're going to just get upset, I'd rather not talk about it at all," Francis said. "I didn't ask you to meet me here to fight."

"Well, why did you, then?" Alicia challenged him.

"To see the Pole, of course. Can you skate?" he asked, but when she merely stood there looking at him suspiciously, he grabbed her hand and let her over to one of the rental booths, grabbing a couple of pairs and handing one to her. Sighing at him, Alicia traded hers in for a bigger size. "Fair warning, I might be a bit rusty, I don't think I've done this since Victoria was on the throne," he chuckled, "but it's rather bad luck to come here and not touch the pole, after all."

"If you believe in luck," Alicia said dryly, lacing up her skates.

"Well, yes, but…why chance it?" Francis said with a fanged smile, standing and testing his balance. "Ready when you are."

"I think the brooms might have been safer," Alicia commented.

"For you, yes, I'm sure it would be," Francis agreed, carefully stepping out on the ice while holding onto the rail.

"Are you sure this is safer for you?" Alicia laughed at him as he wobbled cautiously away from the rail. "They need to make Ultra-Lites for skating."

"Well, that'd defeat the point though, wouldn't it?" Francis said. "And as for the broom thing, I happened to have been rather afraid of heights as a boy and never quite got the hang of it."

"Now, why does that not surprise me?" Alicia grinned, offering him her hand for support.

"I think I've got it now," Francis declared, then immediately ended up on his back the moment she let go. Alicia laughed so hard she nearly fell herself. "I just remembered why I haven't wanted to do this in two centuries."

"Do me a big favor and please stop reminding me how old you are!" Alicia said with exasperation, helping him up.

"My dear, I can't be any less than I am," he said with a gentle but serious smile. "We are the sum of our experiences, after all. But come, we're almost there now." Alicia did her best to hide her troubled thoughts as the two of them worked their way to the center. A number of other skaters were there as well, making tight circles around the pole with their left hands out touching it as they sailed around it. "Looks like I'm going to need to let go," she warned him.

"Ready when you are," he agreed with a nod as they stepped up and tried to match a gap in the ring. Alicia let go then and joined the others with Francis just behind…or so she thought until she found herself in a pile of wizard, witch, and Elven skaters who had tripped over his attempt at joining them.

"Pyther? Are you under there somewhere?" Alicia asked, pulling herself off the top of the moaning, grumbling pile. She saw a grey hand pushing out of the pile then and touch the pole.

"Covered now, thank you," Francis' voice called out; waiting for everyone to get off of him so he could sit up. Alicia was chuckling and shaking her head at him as he used the Pole to get back to his feet.

"Are you all right?" she asked, pulling him back out of the center and towards the exit.

"I think I might have had a bloodied lip if I had my own blood," he admitted, experimentally touching his cut lip.

"Well, never mind, I have you covered," Alicia said with a grin. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a drink."  
"Pardon?" Francis said, blinking at her.

"The Ninety. They have blood wines, I checked," Alicia said, stepping back onto the street. "Come on, my treat," she insisted, taking off the skates.

"Oh, no, there's no need for that, Alicia…"

"Pyther, really! You can at least let me buy you a drink after all the help with the aurora," Alicia said with exasperation. "Besides, you picked up the skate rentals, and either way, neither one of us are hardly starving artists. Weren't you the one who didn't want to argue today?"

"All right, Alicia, I suppose you have a point," Francis admitted. Alicia smiled triumphantly, sliding her mukluks back on before leading him over to the pub, picking a table near the bar. She immediately looked over at the bartender with a smile as she shrugged off her coat, and without a word a servant brought them out two drinks, one with a pair of straws. "I see you were up to more than just sketching this afternoon," he said admonishingly.

"I tend to tip in advance," Alicia said enigmatically, picking up her wine glass.

"And just what is yours?" he asked with a frown. "Alcohol, Alicia?"

"Well if it isn't, I over-tipped," Alicia said amusedly. "It's Chianti."

"Chianti?" Francis repeated.

"It's from Tuscany…"

"Yes, I know that, although it surprises me a tad that you do," Francis said.

"Oh, I summered in Florence a few years ago to study Da Vinci, picked up the habit then," she explained, his expression changing again.

"You studied in Florence? Magnificent, isn't it? At least it was…"

"You've been to Florence?" Alicia pressed. Francis nodded, playing with his straws.

"A very long time ago. I was still alive then," he explained. "My father took me with him when he traveled there to visit Verrocchio not long after I graduated from Hogwarts."

"Your father knew Andrea del Verrocchio?" Alicia said in awe.

"Well, yes, although more of an acquaintance than anything, but my father was really interested in the works coming out of the workshop there, Muggle or not. His time there influenced his work greatly; he began to use a lot more symbolism in his work after that. I made the mistake of using the time there to take up sculpting, when I probably should have been paying more attention to what Verrocchio's apprentices were doing," Francis admitted.

"That's funny, I tried the same thing," Alicia chuckled, shaking her head. "Just as well, it'd be my luck any statue I'd get right would try and take off of me. I did learn a lot about classic technique and anatomy while I was there, though, even with my mother coming down for an extended visit."

"Oh?" Francis asked curiously. Alicia nodded, gazing in her glass.

"I still wasn't talking to Father at that point, so Mum figured since I refused to come home she'd just come to me," she explained.

"And how are you getting along with your father now?" Francis asked her quietly. Alicia shrugged slightly.

"He's come through for me in a pinch now and again," she admitted.

"Your father loves you very much, Alicia, that much is evident. Even if you don't always agree with his methods," Francis said.

"Surely you don't agree with them either," Alicia said, looking up with a frown.

"I think it would be more accurate to say I've simply learned to respect his methods," Francis answered calmly.

"After the way he used to treat you? And I don't mean just that day, either…"

"There were reasons," Francis said, putting her hand over hers to try and calm her. "Is it so wrong that I have come to some sort of terms with it, considering you yourself obviously have as well?"

"Yes it is!" Alicia said irritably. Francis sighed and shook his head with a thin smile.

"I seem to be succeeding nothing but hitting all of the sensitive topics today," Francis said softly. Alicia sighed.

"This isn't anything like I thought it'd be today," Alicia admitted.

"I myself wasn't sure what to expect," he said, sipping his drink. "Look, let's just finish these and try to find something fun to do. I have a couple of hours left before I need to go see to some commission work. As long as it doesn't involve brooms or deep sea diving, I'm up for suggestions."

"Yes, I saw that booth too. Who in their right mind would deep sea dive out here, anyhow?" Alicia exclaimed. Francis looked amused.

"As I understand it, some Muggles came up here a few summers ago and decided it would be fun to go down and put a flag on the sea floor where the terrestrial Pole is, so many of the tourists go down to look at it," Francis explained. Alicia rolled her eyes.

"How about some window shopping?" she suggested.

"Well, I doubt there's anything here that we can't find in Polaris, but I'm game for wandering about," Francis agreed, finishing his drink. "Ready when you are."

"You keep saying that," Alicia chided him, but Francis merely smiled at her as she left some coin on the table and the two of them went back out.

It was a brisk thirty below as the two wandered around the circle of ice, exploring different shops along the spokes and sometimes poking fun at some of the tourist attractions (Alicia was quite sure that Jacob would think the Four-Hour Whaler Hexing Tour would be terribly amusing), and spent lots of time chatting about nothing. Every now and again the subject would trail back to one they were both trying to avoid and they would go silent for awhile, focusing into the crowds or the ocean past the Plaza rim before picking the conversation up somewhere else.

After an hour, the two of them found a bench near the skating rink, watching the antics as people tried to get their hands on the pole and retreat.

"I've heard that they take the rink down once winter is over and put brightly colored ribbons at the top like a giant Maypole for the Hyperborean festival," Francis said distantly.

"Hyperborean?" Alicia asked.

"Just the proper name for Polar Elves, really. It's actually their most sacred time of year, it marks the return of the sun," Francis explained distantly. Alicia gazed at him unsurely. "Of course, I'm always gone by then…I have a little place in the Antarctic as well…abandoned research center, not really as nice as yours. But my studio in Stanley Harbor is nice…basically catering to the occassional wizard couple off the cruise lines, so not as steady business, but it's quite beautiful down there, just the same."

"Perhaps I should come up here next year too and see if I can't get some paintings of the festival," Alicia offered. Francis smiled warmly at her.

"I'd love to see them," he said enthusiastically. "But you have got to let me show you my collection on Magellan penguins."

"Definitely!" Alicia agreed with the same amount of enthusiasm. Just then she heard the persistent cawing of a raven and looked up to see one sitting on a lamppost with a note in its beak. "Look, that's Jacob's familiar, Albert," she said, going over to him to get the note.

"Hope nothing's wrong," Francis said with a frown.

"No…he says the substorm is strengthening and that I need to get down there if I'm going to catch it…he also says Dawson City is having a major power outage and it'd probably be nice and dark and have a better view," Alicia said.

"Well, what are we waiting for? We'd best get going if you're going to catch it," Francis said, getting to his feet.

"But I'm out of canvas! I used the last of it the other night…" Alicia remembered.

"I need to drop by the studio for supplies anyway," Pyther said. "After you?"

The two of them Disapparated and were soon on their way, so intent on their objective that Francis soon forgot about his other commitments.

Jennifer slipped into the Headmaster's Study to find Severus sitting behind the desk with his elbows on the unfolded Map, lost in thought. At the front of his desk sat six ribbon adorned parcels; four boxes with their lids uncovered, a bag, and a very small rectangular box, lined up side-by-side.

"Care for some licorice cauldrons?" Severus asked tiredly, Jennifer grinning in response as she clearly saw that was what was in the bag and the larger boxes.

"And who got you the cufflinks?" Jennifer asked curiously.

"Ambrose," Severus explained, then Jennifer grinned knowingly.

"Someone's going to have to inform him that particular Transfiguration spell is temporary," she chuckled.

"I'm sure if he keeps with his studies he'll figure it out eventually. After all, it's the thought that counts, although I'd be in favor of everyone forgetting…"

"You wouldn't, as much as you complain about it," Jennifer said knowingly. "And a few boxes of candy is hardly a fuss."

"And what about the charmed Pegusi-hair Brazilwood violin bow, complete with a platinum tip plate and a dragonskin wrap?" Severus challenged her.

"Yes, well, I'm your wife, I'm allowed to take some liberties on birthdays," Jennifer said. "And as much as you hate them, I'm not going to let one go unforgotten."

"Yes, well, I'd recount those boxes if I were you," Severus said, setting Ambrose's gift aside. "Tell me, weren't you and Pyther going to take dust samples tonight?"

"Yes, but he hasn't arrived yet. In fact, that's why I came up here. I was wondering if he said anything to you about being late," Jennifer said, glancing at the five presents. "So someone is missing, I see. I know the bag is from Lucky, so it's one of the other five," she said, and then looked up at Severus to confirm her guess. "Alicia?" Severus didn't say anything, carefully folding the Marauder's Map so the confinement room stayed in view on top. "Oh, come now, Severus, it's probably just a coincidence. Alicia has missed a lot of your birthdays."

"When she was angry with me, yes. Has she ever missed any of yours?" Severus asked.

"I think you're reading too much into it, Severus, really," Jennifer said. "And I'm sure Pyther has a good reason for not being here."

"Yes, well, he's hardly on my payroll, after all. He's only here as a favor and in an advisory position," Severus said. "Considering all the back and forth he's been doing, he's probably quite overdue for a day or two away from this mess. But it isn't like him at all not to send a Flame or an Owl about it."

"Perhaps he just lost track of the time?" Jennifer offered.

"Jennifer, Pyther is a six hundred year old vampire. Time zone considerations aside, he certainly didn't get that way by losing track of the time," Severus said bluntly. "If he did lose track in this case, it's certainly quite out of character."

"All right, I admit, even as silly as it is to think one missed gift and a late appointment halfway across the world may have anything at all in common, it is possible they've met again," Jennifer said, sitting down. "Perhaps he said too much in that last letter and she figured it out."

"Letter? What letter?" Severus squinted.

"Oh, he's been sending her anonymous letters lately to help her with her painting," Jennifer said. Severus' jaw dropped.

"And just why is it that I am just now hearing about this?" he asked irritably.

"I felt it wasn't any of our business," Jennifer said. Severus gazed at her a moment, then leaned back in his chair. "Severus, we both know that Alicia doesn't truly realize yet the risks or responsibilities that would go along with a relationship with Pyther. But Pyther does, and I think we're just going to have to trust him to do the right thing. After all, I've heard you say countless times lately that Alicia is an adult now, and it's not our place to interfere."

"I say it countless times to convince myself of it as much as any other reason," Severus admitted. Jennifer smiled gently at him in understanding. "But this relationship could easily be fatal for both of them."

"Our relationship could have easily been fatal too," Jennifer pointed out. "Especially in those early years…and as you may recall, I was about the same age as Alicia was when I met you, and probably just as naïve."

"More naïve," Severus scowled, but Jennifer kept smiling at him. "In some ways, you are still naïve. But this is more than just that, her soul could be at stake as well."

"So were ours at times, Severus," Jennifer said. Severus sighed softly, thinking back and nodding. Jennifer stood back up when he fell into silence, tweaking a piece of licorice out of one of the boxes before giving him a gentle kiss. "I'll go hunt down John to help me collect some random samples before I head to our rooms. Don't forget there's a Quidditch match tomorrow." Severus nodded once more in acknowledgement, watching her slip out of the room. He opened a drawer and dug in it, looking through some of the top papers before selecting a few underneath.

"I thought you said you were done for the night?" Caprica inquired.

"I decided I might as well get some more done until Jennifer returns," he said, glancing at the map again before picking up his quill.

"And here I thought you were planning on trying out your new bow," Caprica said.

"It isn't going anywhere," Severus said, refusing to look up from his paper.

"Neither is Jennifer. Or are you waiting for someone else?" the painting inquired.

"I'm not waiting on anyone," Severus snapped.

"If you say so, Severus," Caprica said with a nod.

Caprica quieted down again and let him work, relaxing in her chair and watching the room contentedly, in no hurry to doze off. It was about an hour later that she finally looked around, tilting her head as if listening to something before clearing her throat.

"What is it now?" Severus sighed, glancing at the clock.

"Oh, it's nothing really, Severus, I just thought you'd like to know that the person you aren't waiting for just showed up," Caprica said amusedly. Severus gave her a cursory glance before reaching for the map, opening it out and studying it a moment before pulling the knob for the stairs. "What, not wanting him to meet up with Jennifer, Severus?"

"I'm simply hinting to him that I'm still awake," Severus said calmly.

"Well, it's not subtle, but it's a hint," Caprica agreed, chuckling as Severus opened the doors wide, well aware that Pyther was more than likely to walk away if they were closed rather than knock.

A few minutes later, Francis nervously peered in, putting his hands in his pockets when he realized they were shaking.

"Come in, Mr. Pyther, or are you planning to lurk in my doorway all night?" Severus asked tiredly.

"Your pardon, Severus," Francis said, cautiously stepping in. "I…there was a magnificent magnetic storm near Polaris Town this afternoon, and I'm afraid I got caught up in my work."

"You are hardly under any obligations to answer to me, Mr. Pyther," Severus said curtly.

"Oh yes I am, sir, if only by choice…and of course to the paintings which you know I've spent many years looking after," Francis protested. "And I had agreed to help Jennifer with some more tests tonight, I was…just looking for her, actually, and somehow found myself up here." Francis heard a soft snigger and looked over to see Caprica, who winked at him.

"I sent Jennifer to bed for some well-needed rest, and from the looks of the state you're in, you could do with a bit yourself. After all, we're monopolizing on your time, more than the other way around. Only…could you please make sure to send word along if you're not going to be here or you're running late? That way we know you've only been delayed, instead of roasted by the sun or staked by a mob of art critics or something," Severus said, not bothering to look up.

"Er…yes, sir, I do apologize…"

"Very well, I'll pass that along to Jennifer in the morning. Care for some licorice? As you see I have plenty," Severus added rather abruptly, taking Francis by surprise.

"Um…er, no thank you, sir, solid food disagrees with me…"

"Oh yes, of course…sorry, habit," Severus said, waving it off unconcernedly. "Every year my children send along a box as a token gift for my birthday, despite my protests asking them not to acknowledge it. It's Jennifer's doing, ultimately, knowing that I'll more than likely not turn candy away, although six parcels of it is a bit much. Or rather five, I should say. Someone seems to have forgotten…still, five out of six isn't all that bad, is it?"

Francis gazed at him unsurely, then glanced at Caprica, who only smiled back innocently in return.

"I don't suppose so," Francis said at last. "Happy Birthday, sir," he added. Severus smiled unpleasantly.

"Thank you, and good evening, Mr. Pyther. Unless, of course, there's something else?" Severus asked, gazing steadily at him.

"Um…good evening, Severus. I'll be back at sunset tomorrow," Pyther promised, backing his way out.

"Yes, well, just don't come too early. I hardly want your ashes piled at the castle gates," Severus said, adjusting his glasses before getting back to work. Pyther nodded nervously and went down the stairs, the doors barely closing before Caprica burst into laughter. Severus ignored it and finished the page he was on before straightening up his desk. He wasn't surprised in the slightest when he walked into the Study the next morning to find the missing parcel of licorice on his desk.


	20. A Chance Encounter

A/N one of those days I can't get italics to come off right in the chapter...mutters...but I'll give ya the chapter anyhow, Happy New Years! JCWritier

Chapter Twenty

A Chance Encounter

Lucky, Laura and Helena met Ambrose just behind the stands on the Hufflepuff side, each accepting one of the yellow and black flags he was handing out to them.

"Are these really necessary?" Lena asked skeptically, wondering what Don and Mike would say if they saw her with one.

"Of course, this is our first chance to support a house member…well, short of sparring," he added.

"Some of us need all the help we can get," Laura said. Lucky gave her a dirty look, even if she wasn't looking at her. "By the way, Lindsay wants us to talk to us in the meeting room if it's a short game. She said something about a possible two new recruits she talked to the other night."

"Sounds good," Ambrose said. "I think I almost have a ghost, too, but I haven't convinced him yet."

"Which one?" Lucky asked.

"Janus Craw, but he's not sure he wants to support it. He says he's a loyal Slytherin."

"I should say so, he's one of Slytherin's apprentices," Lena said. "He's in the common room all the time chatting with us."

"Well, yes, but…see, Slytherin and he had a falling out before the end. Craw was more loyal to Slytherin's son than he was to Slytherin."

"That's news to me, then," Lena said.

"Well, it's not in the normal history, not yet anyhow," Ambrose explained.

"He means it's part of that history he's trying to fix," Lucky said, shaking her head. "Research is one thing, but I don't think you can ever count on it hittin' the main stream, Bill," Lucky warned him. "The Professors don't care about anythin' except making us all think their way, whether it's right or not."

"Oh, I don't really believe that, Lucky. Yeah, we do have awful books this year, but sometimes I think the professors hate them just as much as we do," Ambrose said.

"You know, I think he's right about that," Lena put in. "I've heard some professors almost say something bad about the material and then catch themselves in the middle of the class. In fact, they do it a lot."

"These books are next to criminal in my opinion," Laura said. "In fact, I'm starting to have nightmares involving having to go to class for tests on it now. I wish they'd just give up on them." Ambrose turned somber.

"This is all my fault," he said, the girls exchanging glances before protesting. "No, it's no good, you all know it too. The reason the books are here is because they thought it was too easy for me to get in last year and they're hoping to force me out. Don and Mike told you as much, didn't they, Lena?"

"It's hard to take anything Don says at face value, he tends to put his own spin on things," Helena said carefully.

"None of us are blamin' you for the books, Ambrose," Lucky said as they found some seats near the bottom. "If anythin' I'm shocked the Professor has let it go on for so long."

"I think he's waiting for the first marks to go out to parents to make his case," Laura said. "Although I wish he wouldn't, some of mine are not going to be pretty."

"What are you doing here?" The four of them looked down to see Delia on the steps gazing at Lucky accusingly. Connie and Pimra, on their way to the other side of the Pitch, paused to see what the fuss was about, and Connie eyed her sister thoughtfully. "Shouldn't you be over there with the other Gryffindors?"

"I'm here supporting my cousin," Lucky said curtly. "You gotta problem with that?"

"You're still a Gryffindor," Delia said hotly.

"Oh, shut up, Delia! Family comes before house," Connie said. Helena blinked.

"Since when?" Helena asked.

"Since forever," Connie said. "But I don't blame you at all for being over here after the way we've treated you, Lena. Sorry I've been such a flake." Helena nodded at her unsurely, and the two girls went on towards Gryffindor.

"Wow, that's the first time I've ever seen Constance swallow her pride like that," Ambrose admitted.

"Ya, me too," Lucky agreed. "She has been a real pain this year, even in the house rooms."

"Wonder what turned her around?" Laura wondered, looking over at Helena, who was lost in her own thoughts.

Just then the crowds began to get noisy around them as the Gryffindors came out and the four of them soon followed with cheers of their own as Hufflepuff followed, the four of them adding calls of "Lindsay! Lindsay!" as they passed by and Lucky signed a ward of good luck when she waved at them.

"Who are the best players on the two teams?" Helena asked as the two teams waited for the ball releases.

"Kay is the best for Gryffindor," Laura said, nodding to the Seeker. "She's cracking good, really, Lindsay and the other two Chasers are going to have their work cut out for them to get enough points to put her in line. Your cousins aren't bad either, especially Reggie paired with Morris for Beater, although Tim is an okay Keeper…you can throw him off balance."

"That won't be a problem with Terrence as one of the Hufflepuff Beaters this year," Ambrose put in. "He should be able to keep the pressure on enough they'll have plenty of time to get past Tim."

Sure enough, the Hufflepuff team quickly put pressure on the Keeper, the three Chasers tossing the Quaffle back and forth in a fast but somewhat risky lateral pattern. Lucky had seen this sort of thing before in ground sports with mixed results, but this time it paid off as the three of them set up at different ring heights and quickly tossed it up to Lindsay, positioned at the one farthest from Tim, and tossing it in, the entire section breaking out in applause.

"Bet they don't get away with that again," Ambrose said, Lucky nodding in agreement, but was already looking down the other side of the Pitch where the Gryffindor Chasers were heading in wing formation with the two Beaters on point, smacking the Bludgers up into the air when they came barreling their way. As they headed towards the lower ring, Suzy suddenly dropped down into a terrific stop that sent the Quaffle towards the ground, barely giving her team enough time to dive down and scoop it up before it went out of play. It took Lucky a minute to dare opening her eyes again, sure there had been a crash, but a roar from the crowd around her let her know it was safe to look once more.

"Great team this year," one of the other Hufflepuffs commented from behind them and then suddenly winced along with the rest of the crowd as Terrence took a leg hit from a Bludger.

"This is crazy, why would anyone want to play this?" Lucky muttered as Terrence hung back for a moment, holding onto his leg before slowly picking up speed again.

"It's definitely going to leave a mark," Delia said, appreciatively clapping when Terrence rejoined the other Chasers. "Look!" Lucky closed her eyes again, and Ambrose nudged her.

"It's all right…Gryffindor bobbled the ball, it's coming back," he explained to her. "We're doing fine."

"Of all people, I never imagined a Snape squeamish of Quidditch," Delia snorted, Lucky opening her eyes to glare at her.

"Oh no, not already!" Ambrose said, a mixed reaction going up as Hufflepuff threw in for 40. Because just as it went in, several heads went up as the Snitch flew straight through the ring right above them, and the Seekers were already in motion. Reggie, who had been having his hands full just trying to slow down Hufflepuff's Chasers, suddenly dove to try and catch up with the Bludger he had just hit to change its direction. He was just able to clip it, sending it wildly towards the stands and making quite a few of the Hufflepuffs on the top rows duck as it smashed into the stands and ricocheted off before Madame Brittle deftly caught up with it and sent it back into play.

"Good thing we sat in the front," Helena said.

"Look! They're neck and neck now!" Ambrose said excitedly, pointing to Kay and Fallony Grey as they as they soared upwards for it. So much attention was being paid to them that Lucky missed when Gryffindor scored their first goal, bringing the score to 40-10. But Kay proved to be the quicker of the two, and even as Lindsay pushed her broom to the limit to throw in one last Quaffle, Kay's hand grasped around the Snitch for a solid finish of 160-50. Groans of disappointment echoed from around them as the four got up, hurrying to get out of the way before they rest left the stands.

"Well, at least we can say that Lindsay played well," Laura offered.

"She sure did! First and last goal," Ambrose agreed. "Awful good for her first year if you ask me! I hope Terrence is all right."

"His leg was really starting to swell right before the end," Helena agreed.

"I don't see how anybody can do it," Lucky said, shaking her head. "Whoever came up with this suicidal game anyhow?"

The other three began to give Lucky some basic history as they walked to the Hufflepuff gate and waited for Lindsay, though it was hard to understand any of it as much as they kept interrupting or correcting each other…especially Ambrose, who was doing it so much Helena stuffed his scarf in his mouth. The others were still chuckling about it as he tried to get stray threads off his tongue when Helena heard her name called. Quickly, Helena pushed her flag at Lucky as she saw Don and Mike walking over from the back of the stands.

"Come here, Lena, we would like to talk to you for a moment," Don said.

"Anything you need to say to her can be said in front of us," Ambrose said.

"Oh, shut your gob, you snot-nosed little bastard, it's House business," Don said. Mike snickered. Ambrose's face reddened involuntarily, despite the fact his expression hadn't changed.

"'Ey, you watch your mouth!" Lucky snapped.

"What? It's not like I didn't say anything that wasn't true," Don said. "Helena? Do you mind? I feel my IQ's soaring down by the second around these losers."

"Well, from what I've heard about your marks, it really doesn't have that far to fall, does it?" Laura said.

"Oh, what would you know about it, Fangface?" Don snorted at her.

"Guys? Really, it's fine," Helena murmured to them insistently.

"No, it ain't, Lena. They ain't got no rights to order you around like that. Besides, we got business of our own to take care of," Lucky said. "Get lost, and stop dissin' my friends."

"'Dissin'?" Don repeated with disgust. "Biffa, you're hardly worth my time, especially considering that you're so thick that your see-you-next-Tuesday boat race wouldn't know a real insult when you heard it, would you, you fish market grape?" Mike broke out into laughter behind him, while Lucky and the others stood in front of him in bewilderment.

Just then, Don felt someone tap his shoulder and looked around to find Dale's fist in his face, hitting him with such force he was out the moment he hit the ground.

"Don!" Mike screamed, running to his side and looking at him before turning around and taking out a wand. Immediately the others took out theirs in return, waiting for someone to make a move.

"What in blazes…put down those wands at once!" Jennifer shouted, running up to them from the Pitch with Tonks following behind her. "If you don't put them down immediately, you'll be out of the dueling club. Except for you," she added seeing Lucky, "but either way you will be getting detention if you don't do it now!" Slightly disappointed that Jennifer had made that stipulation, Lucky put down the wand with the others as Jennifer knelt down to take a look at the boy. Patting his cheek gently for a moment, Jennifer finally resorted to getting a potion out of her cloak.

"So anyone want to own up to who did this?" Tonks asked.

"It was Chance that did it!" Mike said angrily. "We was just talking to Helena and her friends and he just up and sucker punched him!"

"I did wait until he turned around first," Dale admitted, Jennifer looked up at him in complete shock.

"Whatever possessed you to do anything like that? The boy is three years younger than you!" Jennifer said, turning back to Don.

"He insulted Lucky," Dale shrugged.

"Lucky can take care of herself!" Jennifer said in exasperation, and then noticed Don stir.

"I don't think she realized how badly he was insulting her…" Dale began.

"Is it Christmas yet, Mum?" Don murmured, threatening to fall back to sleep again.

"Professor Tonks, I need to get him up to Madame Potter, can you take care of things here? And send Dale up to my office when you're done, I have a few words for him myself," Jennifer snapped, gently helping the boy to his feet.

"Can I go with my brother?" Mike asked as they headed back inside.

"Not yet, not until I hear more of the story," Tonks said with a frown.

"It happened just like I said!" Mike protested. "Don was trying to talk to Helena, and her friends started jumping our cases about it, and the next thing I know, Don's in the dirt."

"Ambrose? Girls?" Tonks said.

"Well, he was mouthing off," Laura volunteered. "Although we were doing a bit of our own too…"

"We wouldn't have started in if he hadn't called Ambrose a bastard," Lucky broke in. Tonks squinted, but Ambrose looked in no mood to talk.

"I see I'll have to have some words with Mr. Coventry as well, but be that as it may, it's hardly grounds for…"

"Professor?" Dale said, and then came up in said something in Tonks' ear. Tonks blinked and looked at Lucky.

"Lucky, do you remember what Don said to you at all?"

"I dunno, none of it made much sense," Lucky shrugged. "Somethin' about a boat race on Tuesday…"

"That'll do. Mr. Coventry, you're coming with me so you, your brother and I can have a talk…" Tonks said sternly.

"Me? I didn't say it!" Mike protested.

"As for you, Mr. Chance, that is still no excuse, and I expect Professor Craw will tell you as much when I walk you up to her office. After you, boys," she added. Chagrined, Dale gave the four standing there one last look before heading inside, ignoring the glare Mike was giving him.

"Get him, who the Hell does he think he is, anyhow?" Lucky said in annoyance, turning back to the others. Laura turned around and motioned Lindsay to come over from where she was standing on the other side of the stands.

"Yeah, Don can be a real pain sometimes," Helena admitted. Lucky stared at her.

"Who was talking about Don? I could'a handled him. I meant Dale," Lucky said. "Steppin' in like that, it's not like it was any of his business anyhow."

"Really? What happened?" Lindsay asked excitedly. Lucky rolled her eyes as Laura recounted it to them on the way to the library, despite the fact that Ambrose, Lucky, and Helena all looked rather annoyed about the whole thing and kept hushing them whenever anyone approached. Several students looked up in the library when they came in together, and Helena noticed her sister and Pimra both look up from where they sat at a table near the office door, watching them both intently on their way inside. Sitting at his desk, Boulderdash barely waved as the group went through his office and into the storeroom, taking the same seats as their first meeting.

"All right, I call this meeting of the Fifth House to order," Ambrose said. "Pass your points reports to Lena and we'll get started. Lindsay, you said you had some potential recruits?"

"Yes, I do," Lindsay nodded. "Pimra Glass and Constance Weasley."

"What?" Helena blinked. "Oh, come on, Lindsay, Connie is so Gryffindor it's not even funny."

"Well, not lately, but we'll get into that. I'd like to talk about Pimra first," Lindsay said. "I think on new recruits we should start with representatives from the house they were sorted into. Laura, what can you tell us about her?"

"Well, not all that much, she's not much of a mixer; she's very quiet and keeps to herself most of the time," Laura said. "She reads a lot, but she seems quite bright and doesn't miss much…when she does speak on something she's normally dead on right about it. She hasn't really made any friends to speak of, though she did speak to the Coventry boys a lot the first few weeks…I suspect that's because her grandfather is old Balmweed, Erik Dalance's second on the board. But I haven't seen her with anyone lately, she just wanders the halls when she's not studying. In fact, the first time I ever saw her go out of her way to talk to anyone was during the Ghost Ball when she and Constance spent most of the night talking. I think she's probably just shy, but I can't say she seems very comfortable with Ravenclaw."

"Sounds like a deviant to me," Ambrose agreed. "Bet she could use some more friends."

"I agree with Ambrose, although I must point out adding someone connected to the board might be explosive with what all is going on right now," Helena said.

"Eh, it's just her grandfather. How many kids listen to their grandfathers these days?" Lucky put in.

"I don't think she's the sort to mention something like this, I think all she really wants are some friends," Laura said, "She's just not sure how to go about it."

"Shall we vote then? It has to be unanimous for new members, right?"

"Right," Ambrose said. "All in favor?" Everyone raised their hands. "All right, on to the next one."

"Considering it has to be unanimous, we might as well skip it…" Helena began.

"No matter whose name comes up in these discussions, I insist they all get a fair talking out," Lindsay said.

"Yeah, Lindsay's right," Laura said. "I think we ought to listen."

"Me too," Ambrose agreed, Lucky nodding as well.

"Well, Lucky, what can you tell us then?" Lindsay asked her. Lucky looked thoughtful a moment, then shrugged.

"She has been having a lot of problems since the Sorting this year," Lucky said. "In fact, she's not getting along with anybody, relatives included, mainly because she's been a real pain in the ass. She was okay last year," Lucky offered.

"Sure, before I got Sorted," Helena said bitterly.

"Yes, but she did apologize for all that earlier," Laura said.

"She did?" Lindsay said in surprise.

"While we were at the game," Ambrose said when Helena seemed in no hurry to speak up. "Delia was bothering us for being in the Hufflepuff stands, and Connie stuck up for us."

"She wasn't bothering you, chico," Lucky said.

"As far as I'm concerned she was bothering all of us. I'm a Fifth House member more than a Hufflepuff," Ambrose said. "My point was that Connie seemed awfully sincere."

"Yeah, she did," Lucky admitted.

"There is something else I ought to tell you," Lindsay said, gazing at Helena. "I didn't come to the two of them so much as they came to me. I had talked to Pimra about it a bit beforehand because of how hard of a time she was having adjusting to Hogwarts…but that night at the Ghost Ball, it was the two of them asked me about it, and I think…well, I got the impression that Connie isn't so mad about you being a Slytherin as she is disappointed about not being in the same house with you. I think she had all these notions over the summer about how she was going to have a chance to show you around and help you with your books and all, but none of that happened the way she planned."

"She just never wanted to be anything other than a Weasley," Helena said grumpily.

"I think she probably understands more than you give her credit for, Lena," Laura said.

"So what do we do? I'd feel terrible about letting Pimra in and not letting Connie in since they came to me together," Lindsay said.

"Ya, but the reason Connie's out of touch with her house is her own fault," Lucky said.

"That doesn't make her any less a deviant though, does it?" Ambrose asked.

"Does just having a Slytherin sister make one a deviant?" Helena asked dryly.

"Only if you're a Weasley," Lindsay said, the others grinning in response. "So how about a vote?"

"All right," Ambrose said, "All in favor of letting Connie Weasley into the Fifth House, raise your hand." Lindsay, Laura, and Ambrose's hands went up right away, Lucky more cautiously a minute later. The four of them gazed at Helena, patiently waiting for her to think it over until finally she raised her hand and the rest grinned at her.

"I'll go bring them in so we can get their points set up and go over the rules," Lindsay offered.

"It'll be nice to have some more members, even if they are girls," Laura said. "But please can the next one be a boy? Please?" she begged, the others giving her a grin before they turned their attention to welcoming the two girls that hung shyly near the door, pulling up some more chairs.

"Do you know what we need?" Constance said as she sat down from breakfast across from Lucky. "We need our own crest and colors…or at least something to wear as a show of support that still falls within dress code guidelines."

"Ya, but all the main colors are taken, an' I'm not getting stuck with purple and orange," Lucky said. Connie thought a moment.

"Pink?" she suggested. Lucky looked up from her food and stared at her. "Well, what does that leave?" she asked impatiently.

Just then, there was a flurry as the morning paper arrived, and followed by a low rumble growing from the Ravenclaw table that made Lucky turn around questioningly to see Dale with a red envelope in his hand. Laura, sitting next to him, inched as far away from the boy as she could get before he reluctantly opened the envelope.

"**Wilbert Irwindale Chance the Second!**" a woman's voice screamed from the envelope. Dale winced noticeably as it sunk in to the students around him and then the Great Hall burst out in laughter, drowning out the first few words in the letter that Lucky was straining to hear. "…went through with your father to make sure you had a chance at a **normal** life, moving over here despite all the personal sacrifices he had to make to do it, and this is how you repay us, by becoming a thug! You are lucky you're not in a California school right now, or your career would be over! As it is, I have half a mind to cancel all your holiday commitments, and I swear if I hear another word of your bullying, I'll pull the plug right quick no matter what your father says! IS THAT CLEAR???" Dale shrunk down noticeably as his housemates gibed him over both the Howler and his name until finally he slunk under the table.

"Poor Dale," Connie said, but was still giggling. "I wish I'd gotten to see that hit though."

"You and most the school," Reggie agreed next to her. "Man, is his name wretched or what? I mean, I knew about the Irwindale thing, that's how he was Sorted, but I didn't know he had two names like that…and he's the second? Brutal!"

"Aw, leave him alone about the name," Lucky said irritably.

"I thought you didn't even like him, Lucky," Connie challenged her.

"I can't stand Dale, but we don't really get to pick what names our parents give us," Lucky snapped. "Would you have picked Constance, chica?"

"It wouldn't have been my first choice, no," Connie agreed. But as she sat there thinking about it, she couldn't help but giggle again, stopping a moment later when Lucky gave her a dirty look. It was then she noticed Dale slip out.

"I'll talk to Ambrose about the color thing, I'll see you later," Lucky said after a moment, grabbing her books and heading out the door and cutting through a couple of back corridors to beat Dale to the Transfiguration room.

He was more than a little surprised to see her standing there, glancing around but no one else had come up from breakfast yet.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have a double this morning?" he asked.

"Yeah," Lucky said. "Look, I just wanted say I was sorry about the double detention thing, and the Howler thing…"

"Oh, that," Dale said, blowing it off. "Forget it, my mother gets bent easy. Besides, it wasn't your fault; I'm the one that hit him. And if I had to do it over…I still would have hit him," he admitted with a grin.

"Exactly what did he mean, anyhow?" Lucky asked.

"Oh, no, you don't," Dale said, backing off. "If I tell you, you'll go ballistic, and it won't just affect you but Craw and Snape as well. From what I gather, Don's parents are already frothing at the mouth and threatening the Professor if I don't get suspended from more than just Quidditch, and I can't imagine what they'd do if it were his daughter. Let's just say that the twins like to play a bit with rhyming slang…although some of it is stuff they've made up to talk just between themselves. Just don't take anything those foul-mouthed little beasts say at face value. On second thought, just avoid the lil' yobs and save everybody a headache. Besides, if they do start pulling wands, I think you'll be in trouble," he said.

"Hey!" Lucky said, but he hushed her as several of his classmates walked up with books in hand.

"Coming in, Wilbert Irwindale?" Chris Sagen asked. Bobby pushed him in the shoulder, scowling at him. Laura Lupin frowned, looking between Dale and Lucky.

"Looks like I'm going to have a few headaches of my own," Dale said dryly. "Hey, you have an early class too, you'd better get going."

"Yeah, later Dale," she said, taking a moment to talk whisper something to Laura before darting down the hall.

"And just what was that all about?" Laura asked suspiciously, following Dale into the classroom.

"I think Lucky just figured out there are people out there with names worse than hers," Dale confided to her in a low voice. Laura grinned at him before taking her seat.

Dale found himself thinking about that short conversation the rest of the day, debating whether or not it meant that Lucky's barriers were finally beginning to break down a bit. It distracted him enough that he didn't quite manage to finish his Transfiguration test, and he didn't pay any attention at all to his best friend's berating him at lunch about how bad their first game was going to be without Dale playing. But Dale had enough to think about. He was going to be condemned to spend the next couple of days in detention.

Promptly after dinner, he dutifully reported to Caretaker Carnegie, who looked quite tired but very happy to see him.

"I have just the task for you, Mr. Chance," he said, leading him up the main stairwell and into a room right off the second floor. Dale walked into the Trophy Room as John took out a set of keys and carefully unlocked the cases with his gloved hands. "The Headmaster doesn't really trust using magic to dust some of these; some are extremely old and held together with charms as it is, and I'm not sure he trusts me around them at all," he added with amusement.

"And yet you want me to do it?" Dale asked dubiously.

"They're safer in your hands than mine, I assure you," John said, handing him a bucket with rags and polish. "I have some other work but I'll check up on you in an hour or two. I trust you'll have made some progress…just the trophies and the cases, Mr. Chance. Don't touch the paintings, whatever you do."

"All right," Dale said.

"Take your time and do it right, Mr. Chance, I'll be checking," John warned him with a smile and a wink before slipping back out the door. Dale sighed and opened the case, carefully starting on the top shelf. It was tedious work, and work that made him constantly wonder what time it was. But he had not gotten far into the first case when he heard voices and looked up to see Professor Andrew walk by with Lucky not far behind. Catching movement out of the corner of her eye, Lucky looked over at him and slowed down until Andrew called her name, then hurried to catch up. Carefully setting down the trophy he was working on, Chance got up and peered out the door to see the two of them turn into the gym.

"Hm…" he said out loud, trying to listen at the door to see if he could pick out what they were talking about.

"They're practicing forms," a boy's voice said from behind him. Curiously, Dale turned around, wondering how anyone could have gotten past him, looking behind some of the cabinets. "Snape isn't happy with Lucky's progress in sparring, so he's got Andrew staying late every night to try and get her up to speed…although I think part of the reason he picked Andrew to do it was to keep him from having so many dates on school nights."

Dale finally honed in on a curious painting on the wall, apparently done of the Trophy room itself, with several children and ghosts present. The flaxen haired youth in front of him looked quite familiar, and he stared a moment to try and place him.

"You're Dale Chance, aren't you? The one who's been chasing the girl who's going to be my sister," the boy said.

"Who is?" a girl with dark brown hair asked, her violet eyes unmistakable.

"Wait a minute. You're Corey Willowby, aren't you? And you're Madame Brittle!" Dale said in amazement.

"I wish everyone would stop calling me that!" the girl flailed, the boy sitting beside her blushing fiercely. "I'm Danny! Never mind what my real self is going by these days!"

"Fine, but how do you know who I am?" Dale asked.

"Oh, we have had an eye on you for awhile now," Corey said casually.

"Actually, that's only partially true," Danny said, frowning at Corey. "The truth of the matter is, we've been trying to get to Lucky and Ambrose, but things keep getting in the way. But it's just as well, because I wanted to talk to you about Lucky anyway."

"All right," Dale said, picking up the trophy he sat on the floor in attempt to look busy.

"Well, I thought you ought to know…well, it's not that she doesn't like you, that's all," Danny said carefully.

"Oh? So you're saying she does like me?" Dale asked, looking up from his polishing. Danny grimaced.

"No, I don't want to say that either. What I mean to say is…it isn't you. I mean, the way she's acting towards you isn't personal," Danny explained.

"Well, that much I've figured out on my own," Dale said, studying her thoughtfully. "Care to tell me why?"

"I don't know any details, Dale, I can only tell you what I've observed," Danny said. "You pick up things when you've had a home life like I had, and that whole tough girl thing she does is covering up for something else. Maybe it's better if you didn't push so much."

"Great, now even the paintings are telling me to give it up," Dale muttered, putting away the cup.

"No! I don't want you to do that either!" Danny protested so fervently that Dale looked over again. "Just keep your presence known like you have been doing…show up when she doesn't expect it so she knows you're there, just…back off a little and don't be so…"

"Obnoxious?" Corey offered.

"Obvious," Danny said, giving Corey a dirty look.

"I've been meaning to back off anyhow, since she's actually willing to talk to me now," Dale admitted, pulling a gold statuette out of the cabinet.

"All the same, it's too bad you're not in the Fifth House so you can keep tabs on things better," Corey said casually. Danny gazed at him thoughtfully but didn't comment, looking back at Dale.

"Fifth House?" Dale asked.

"Yeah, something Lucky and Ambrose started…a secret club for students in the school that don't feel like they fit in," Corey explained. "Really cool, idea, actually, we should have thought of something like that when we were in school."

"We did, the Musketeers, remember?" Doug said.

"Oh, that was different, that was mostly to help save Danny from her father. This is more like…for fun!" Corey said.

"No, I think it's more to it than that, Corey," Essie said, looking at Angela. "I mean, I know what it's like to feel like you don't quite fit in."

"It wasn't that you didn't fit in as much as you were just too shy, Essie," Angela said. "Although you never were as bad as Pimra."

"Is Pimra in this Fifth House thing too?" Dale asked with interest.

"Yes, she just got in," Corey said. "Connie too…"  
"Any other Ravenclaws?" Dale asked, thinking about it. "Wait, I bet Laura's in it too, isn't she? And those other kids Lucky was with at the game."

"Yeah," Corey said. "See, Connie and Pimra are friends of ours. They joined to help us out."

"You lost me again," Dale said with a frown. "Help you out? Why would a painting need students helping them?"

"Have you seen what's been happening to the paintings lately?" Corey asked seriously.

"Look, the facts of the matter are that we're all working for someone who's trying to do what's best for the school," Danny explained, glancing behind her and looking at a painting behind them. The woman in the portrait nodded with a smile. "I don't suppose you'd be interested in helping too?"

"Not until I find out exactly who it is I'm supposed to be helping," Dale said. "I'm not really in the habit of talking to paintings, even particularly clever ones, and I am certainly not going to trust one that seems to know as much as you do."

"Perhaps I can help clear things up?" said a voice from somewhere behind Dale. Dale half expected to find a professor standing there, but the doorway was quite empty. Instead, he looked up to see the woman in the smaller painting just above it. "Hello, Mr. Chance! I'm Professor Dusthorn, first appointed Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"Our ringleader," Corey explained.

"I'm also the Headmaster's secretary at the moment, so my time is quite limited," Caprica explained apologetically.

"So the Headmaster knows about this?" Dale asked.

"What, about my consorting with students again? Goodness no, he'd never approve," Caprica said, laughing outright.

"Then how do I know that whatever it is you and your painting friends are up to are for the good of the school?" he asked.

"Are you inquiring about my references, Mr. Chance?" Caprica asked with amusement.

"Not in so many words, but yes," Dale agreed.

"Corey, I think you and your friends have outdone yourselves this time, and I for one heartily approve," Caprica said, smiling down at the painting and getting enthusiastic thank-yous and a flamboyant bow from Corey in response. "Do you have a scrap of paper on you?"

"A Ravenclaw is never without it," Dale said, taking out a small notepad out of his pocket.

"Good lad! Then a list of references you shall have," Caprica said with a mischievous look in her eyes, having him copy down a list of names.


	21. The Paintings in the Closet

Chapter Twenty-One

The Paintings in the Closet

It was snowing by the time Jennifer returned that evening, carefully carrying a pair of phials wrapped in cloth into the castle and up the stairs, unsurprised to find the Study doors open when she arrived. Hermione was also there with a clipboard on her lap and her feet on a stool, smiling at her when she came in. Severus put aside his work when he saw her, looking at her intently.

"I finally got the last of those tests done," Jennifer said. "I have to say I will be so glad getting a working lab again. This back and forth stuff is a real pain."

"Never mind that, have you found anything out?"

"Well, yes and no," Jennifer said. Severus frowned.

"Why is it any time I ever ask anything about those blasted paintings I get a mixed answer?"

"Sorry," Jennifer said, uncovering the phials and handing them over. "Basically, there is some connection with the dust and the contagion, because even though I didn't find anything substantial, there is some magic residue in the dust of all the infected paintings where I didn't find any of the random samples John, Pyther and I have been collecting. I wonder if it isn't like…well, rather like sweat during a fever. The magical energy also has a mild yet significant negative charge…which is probably why they attract more dust in the first place."

"That would imply that there is some sort of hard differentiation between what's going on beneath the surface of the painting and the surface itself," Severus mused, glancing at the paintings on the wall. Caprica gazed back intently, while the rest seemed oblivious to any activity in the room at all.

"You don't suppose there's any possibility that whatever is causing this is cross-dimensional?" Hermione asked. Jennifer frowned at her, but saw at a glance from Severus was wondering the same thing.

"Look, I'm hardly any sort of expert in magic and magnetics," Jennifer said. "But I'm not sure how anything like that could be possible…in most of these paintings, all we're talking about is a piece of lightly charmed canvas with of paint that consists of nothing more than pigment, a basic mimic potion, and a drop of blood."

"What about that tangle you both had with that Mallus Craw painting?" Hermione asked. Jennifer shook her head.

"That was different, that was actually a mirror with an entrapment spell on it…well, plus one very malicious ghost," Jennifer admitted. "But mirrors have always been known for their properties in creating interspatial dimensions."

"I wonder now if that's only because somehow it's easier for us…humans in general…to wrap our heads around the idea that a mirror can open a door to another place since it truly can seem to be an extension into another room," Severus said. "Tell me, Jennifer, when Alicia travels through paintings, what is she in if not an interspatial dimension? A location between locations?"

"Well, I thought of it more like the way Pyther explained it…that she sort of becomes part of the painting and travels like they do…"

"But she's still there, Jennifer, as are all that travel with her. And how exactly do you explain how the different painting images move from one frame to another?" Severus asked.

"I just assumed it was something in the paint," Jennifer murmured.

"Which never leaves the frame of the painting," Severus said. Jennifer thought about it until her head hurt.

"Okay, all the sudden your theory makes more sense than mine does, although I don't know how it could possibly work," Jennifer said.

"Yes, well, ironic that we take so much for granted as being 'magic' and not bothering to give it any further thought until it somehow goes awry on us," Severus said. "For simplicity sake and our sanity's sake…not to mention having the lack of time to get into any lengthy theoretical debate on how it's possible at all considering we see it happening every day of our lives…we'll call where the paintings' sentience exist an interspatial dimension for now. This means that something or some being has somehow invaded that space to cause this, although now we have evidence that the disruption does seem to affect our world to some degree as well," he mused, glancing at phial. "Which I suppose makes sense, considering that every time someone paints a painting it opens another door. But that there would be any physical sign other than the clouding of the painting itself bothers me," he murmured. "Is there any possibility that this residue can cause contagion? It came out of the dimension, perhaps it could cross back in, and if so…" Severus paused then, trying to work something out. Jennifer frowned as she tried to follow his thoughts, but quickly got lost.

"I need to think," he said at last. "Jennifer, if this residue is at all contagious, you three may have inadvertently added the contagion back in when you were taking samples. Grab John and Pyther when he gets here to go over all the paintings in the castle, and pay special attention to any you drew dust from. Perhaps if we're lucky, it will be."

"You want it to be contagious?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's the first tangible thing we've had to work with since this started," Severus pointed out. "Now if you'll excuse me…"

"Wait, what about the duty list?" Hermione said with exasperation, drawing his attention to her clipboard.

"Oh, um…just finish it up and leave it on my desk," Severus said distractedly. "By the way, Jennifer, you'll be spending your lunches with Hermione relearning the Deputy job until the Christmas holidays. I trust that'll give you plenty of time to get things in order, since you'll be taking over the position when we get back." Jennifer blanched noticeably as Severus went to the back room, glancing at Hermione dubiously.

"Don't worry, Jennifer. I have everything alphabetized, color coded, and indexed…and I'm going to write a notebook full of step-by-step instructions on everything you might run into, just in case," Hermione promised.

"Well, that's lovely, isn't that lovely? I'm sure it will be," Jennifer said with such lack of enthusiasm as she left the room that Hermione made a note to herself to ask Sagitarri if he would cater lunch for a while.

Francis got up without hesitation when Jangler rapped on his vault, moving the top aside with his wand and sitting up.   
"You know, perhaps it would be easier if we kept the shop time on Greenwich," Jangler said when Francis reached for his watch and adjusted the sunset time.

"I'd rather just follow the rest of town, especially considering Alicia is sure to ask if I did change it," Francis said, getting up and throwing on his suit.

"Ah, yes, how was your date last night?" Jangler asked.

"It wasn't a date, we simply went to a Quidditch game," Francis said, frowning at him. "But as it turned out, it was rather enlightening. We saw Alicia's cousin there in one of the Gold Diggers' team boxes. She also saw us," Francis said with amusement, "although she didn't seem too happy to see me."

"That young lady has been on the naughty list for so long the other Elves will probably give her a permanent name plaque," Jangler said dryly, and Francis chuckled softly.

"Even when she was young, Zoë felt it was her against the world. She really hasn't changed much," Francis admitted. "Even so, she does have a good heart when she chooses to show it." Jangler gazed at him dubiously. "No, she does, and it's kept her above water before. Perhaps someday she'll learn there's more to life than just fighting all the time," he said.

"I wouldn't hold my breath, sir," Jangler advised, handing Francis his coat. "You will be keeping your evening appointments this time?"

"I plan to, yes," Francis agreed as Jangler walked him to the studio door.

"Won't that be a refreshing change," Jangler said, but Francis simply chuckled at the Elf before slipping out the door.

After a couple quick portal hops, Francis Apparated to the gates of Hogwarts and was walking across the courtyard when he saw Jennifer hurrying out to meet him with a grim expression on her face.

"What is it? More paintings lost?" Francis asked with concern.

"Three found so far," Jennifer said. "Field of lavender near the containment room, the nest of egrets…I put the Rowena statue back at the door for now…and a painting of Argus Filch just outside Carnegie's office…apparently it is possible for the paintings to contract this through the dust samples we took."

"Really?" Pyther said with a frown. "I was certain it was all internal."

"Yes, Severus is working on some theories on that," Jennifer said.

"How did the egrets get infected? I know we didn't test any of the security paintings," Francis frowned.

"My best guess at this point was that they were practicing hunting in the fields. John is looking for the portrait of their mother now, she was taken down for repairs some time ago."

"Goodness, if she was stacked with other paintings I hope she didn't infect any of them too! Where are they?" Francis asked worriedly.

"He thought it might be in the wardrobe in my classroom…your old painting room. I haven't had time to go through it," Jennifer explained.

"Well, we'd best do it now," Francis said, Jennifer nodding in agreement and following him up the stairs. John was already there, glancing through a stack of framed paintings in the classroom.

"Ah, good, there you are! There are tons of paintings stored in there, I imagine we've gotten a bit behind on them lately," John said. "I brought up a few from the maintenance closet too, they're over there," he said, pointing to another stack of framed paintings leaning against the wall. "I didn't see the eagle, though."

"What about these?" Jennifer asked, peering in the closet. Francis looked inside to see the upper shelf filled with paintings rolled up in scroll cases. Just beneath it, a stack of unframed paintings had been neatly laid flat with layers of paper and cloth in between each one, a flat board placed on top.

"I organized those a few years ago," Francis said distantly. "If the diving eagle painting was damaged recently, it'd probably be one of the framed ones."

"Perhaps this be the one, then?" John said. Jennifer stepped out to see that John had slightly pulled out a frame filled with clouds.

"Ah, lovely," Jennifer said, then went over to a second wardrobe filled with her own equipment, pulling out some lab towels.

"Separate the paintings just in front of and behind it for certain," Francis said. "I'll pull out the rest of the framed paintings."

"I thought I had them all," John said, carefully moving some of the paintings at the front to one side, leaning them against the wall.

"There's a couple more hidden back here," Francis said, pulling out a pair that had been wrapped haphazardly in black cloth. But as he pulled them out and unwrapped a corner to take a look, he found himself stepping back wishing he hadn't found them.

"What's wrong, sir? You look as if you've seen your own ghost," John said when he looked up.

"I believe I just have," Francis said quietly, and Jennifer went over and pulled up the cloth to see the half-finished painting of Alicia, knowing before she even unwrapped the other one that it was the one Alicia was painting of Francis Pyther. "Why were these not destroyed?"

"Dumbledore must have decided to save them," Jennifer said quietly.

"What is this? Oh, but that's your daughter as a young girl, isn't it, Professor?" John said with a surprised smile. "Pretty thing, wasn't she?"

"Well, she's even more lovely now," Jennifer said firmly. "Isn't she, Pyther?"

"We'd best get the eagle and the other two paintings near it into quarantine," Francis said, turning away.

"I should take the eagle up, since I'm the one who handled her," John said. Francis nodded to John as he put on his own gloves to get the other two.

It was then that Severus strode into the room, his eyes first fixing on the clouded frame before taking in the rest of the scene. He paused a moment as his eyes met that of Alicia with a look of surprise, but it soon turned back into the concerned expression he came in with.

"Have all of these been exposed?" Severus asked.

"We don't know…those two for certain," Jennifer said, pointing to the slightly torn painting of the castle as seen from the courtyard, and one of a rather sour-looking wizard in a black flat hat. "Those are the ones the eagle was sandwiched between."

"These others will need to be carefully watched, Severus," Francis said.

"Well, I don't want them in the containment room, it's not worth the risk," Severus said, frowning at the Alicia portrait again. "Will these two wander?"

"Um, no, I don't think so, Professor, we…they're not far enough along," Francis answered quietly.

"Yes, aren't we lucky," Severus said in such a dry tone that Francis wisely decided not to reply as his eyes darted around the walls of the room. His eyes then fell to a small, lone picture at the back of the class and went over to it, inspecting it.

"Hi, Dad!" the portrait of Corey said where he stood painting the stick figure of his cat Cheshire. He frowned as he studied the rest of the class, then grew even more unsettled when he saw Amadeus Longbottom and Roger Baylor in the back not far from where a pregnant Jennifer Craw sat on a stool, half-painting, half-watching the class.

"This one needs moved to the confinement room," Severus said after a moment.

"What? No we don't!" Corey protested. "We're fine where we are!"

"Professor, we haven't left the painting since you told us not to," Danny added from where she was sitting painting Redwing.

"I'm hardly going to get into an argument with a painting," Severus said curtly.

"Severus, they haven't left the painting," the portrait of Jennifer said in a chiding tone. "I am hardly going to let them wander about in the middle of a class."

"And just who is preventing you from wandering, might I ask?" Severus put in. Behind him, the real Jennifer put her hands on her hips.

"I am, of course!" Corey said indignantly. Severus sneered slightly at that.

"Yes, that's very reassuring," Severus said before taking the painting down, ignoring their protests. "Jennifer, let's put all the questionable paintings up in here for now. I'll set up some sort of watch during times you're not in class for a couple of days so we can keep an eye on them, and I want every one of them dusted and tested."

"All right, Severus," Jennifer said resignedly, attempting not to think of just how much work that was going to involve. Severus stepped out of the room with the painting still in hand, giving each painting in the hall a cursory inspection before moving up the main stairs, pausing every floor to glance at the paintings before moving on and down the corridor, only pausing once to frown at a pair of Ravenclaws that were pushing their curfew down to the minute. Nervously, they hurried along faster, and Severus shook his head at the distraction, finding his way to the Confinement Room.

"This is cruel and unusual punishment if you ask me," Corey complained as Severus adjusted some of the paintings to make room for them near a corner. "How come we're being put in jail when we didn't do anything wrong that you know of?"

"Exactly what do you mean by 'that I know of?'" Severus frowned at the painting. Corey grinned. Severus looked over at the painting Jennifer but she seemed to be oblivious to the conversation. "Yes, I definitely think both of you are better off in here."

"I'm going to be bored out of my mind!" Corey whined, but Severus ignored it, turning his attention to checking the other paintings before finally stepping back out of the room, closing the door. "At least you could have left the lights on!" Corey shouted. "Honestly, how are we going to paint in the dark?"

When Pimra entered the potion room the next morning, she found herself stopping short, staring at the walls in wonder at the large collection of ragtag paintings that now hung on the walls. Some had small tears or threadbare sections, and others just needed a good cleaning. But more importantly, the painting that had been there wasn't there anymore. Helena, who had walking beside her, turned around when she stopped.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's not here anymore," Pimra murmured, getting a puzzled look in response. "The painting that was in this room yesterday. You don't suppose it was taken over by that fog, do you?"

"Does it matter?" Helena asked. On the Slytherin side of the room, Jill hissed and pointed Helena to her seat.

"I'll explain later," Pimra murmured, then took her seat, glancing at their last list of components and properties one last time before Professor Craw came in with the tests. As she was passing them out, Janus Craw suddenly materialized sitting in a chair in the back of the room. Jennifer simply nodded to him as he floated out, and didn't see when Janus gazed back at Pimra before fading through the door.

The Professor tapped Pimra's desk to get her attention as she put the test down, then finished handing out the last of them behind her.

"There's only going to be a couple more of these before the holidays, so I hope you put your best effort in," Jennifer told them. "Most of this is straight memorization except for the last five formulas, so you should know it. Once you're done, don't forget to pick up your new homework list when you turn it in. You can work on it until we start the lab."

Pimra sighed softly to herself as she turned over the paper. At least with Helena's help studying she had been able to memorize most of the terms, but even with Lucky's tutoring, the concepts didn't come easy to her. It also didn't help knowing that even if she did manage to pass the last three, it was more than likely to be too little too late, for her marks the rest of the term were close to the bottom of the class. Would the fact that she was improving be enough to keep her parents from coming down too hard on her during the holidays? Pimra wasn't convinced. Distractedly, she looked up from her paper to see Jennifer furrowing her brows at her, so Pimra put her nose back down and finished it, finally giving up on getting the proofs on her formulas to match and turning it in as it was.

Grabbing her homework, Pimra started reading, wishing that class was over already. Helena turned hers in next, grinning at Pimra as she took her homework back and started reading as well. But the rest of the class dragged on, and soon Jennifer was looking at her watch in annoyance and tapping her quill on the desk. It was then that Pimra realized that they weren't going to have time for a lab at the rate the rest of the class was taking. She grinned with relief, for Sandy had proved to be a less than stellar lab partner, and it meant there would be one less disaster for the day.

"You have ten minutes left," Jennifer said at last, scanning the faces around the room once more before turning her attention back to marking papers. As Pimra marked her place and put her books in order, she saw a figure float through the wall near the art closet and realized it was Professor Ravenclaw, wearing an expression that indicated he was in a particularly depressed mood that day. "All right everyone, time's up…don't forget to pick up your homework," she reminded them as they reluctantly got up to turn them in. But Pimra darted out of the classroom, hoping to get a moment in the Trophy Room before lunch.

"Wait, where are you going?" Helena asked, hurrying to catch up. But as they got to the room, Pimra bumped right into Dale Chance, who was in the process of walking out of it.

"Sorry about that, Pimra. You all right?" Dale asked her, gently helping her stay on her feet. Pimra lost all color in her face and gaped at him.

"She was until you blundered into her like that, just who do you think you are, anyhow?" Helena snapped at him, pulling her back. "And what were you doing in there?"

"Wrong turn," Dale said. "Well, I need to take care of something before lunch. See you ladies later," he said, glancing thoughtfully at a paper in his hand before walking down the corridor. Helena turned to Pimra, shaking her by the shoulders.

"Hey, what is the matter with you?" she asked.

"D…didn't you hear him?" Pimra mumbled.

"What?" Helena asked.

"Dale Chance knew my name!" Pimra finally blurted out. Helena rolled her eyes.

"He's in Ravenclaw, what do you expect, silly?" Helena asked.

"Yes, but still…"

"Come on, let's go to lunch," Helena said with exasperation. Pimra glanced in the Trophy Room, her eyes fixing on the painting on the wall before she nodded, following Helena as the majority of her classmates filed out of the classroom as well.

Exhausted and not looking forward to her lunch with Hermione in the slightest, Jennifer quickly put her own work away as the last student left, glancing every now and again at Icarus, who was floating just below the picture of Alicia and staring at it with unnerving intensity.

"I hope you know you're supposed to be watching all the paintings, Icarus, not just that one," Jennifer said with exasperation as she grabbed a clean notebook to take with her.

"I know," Icarus said forlornly. "But why waste time with the ones that aren't dangerous?"

"Exactly what do you mean by that, Ick?" Jennifer demanded, but Icarus simply faded away, leaving her to growl to herself a moment before reluctantly heading to the Deputy Headmaster's office.

Each of the seven members of the Fifth House had different reasons as to why evening study time was their favorite time of the day. Lucky wasn't only starting to make progress in Transfiguration with Laura's help, but with Connie came someone she could chat with at meal times. Shy Pimra had finally found a friend in strong-willed Helena, and Helena had found her sister again. Laura felt less like an only child; while Lindsay began to realize her intense desire to help others gain a sense of self…something that she often longed for. And young Ambrose once again found a foothold in Hogwarts, feeling as if he belonged as strongly as he had before the disguise had come off his first year.

Often Boulderdash would be present in his office or even sometimes in the storeroom; never interrupting or getting involved other than answering an occasional question (usually from Ambrose, still deep into his history project). Mostly the Goblin spent his time to either reading books or repairing them. As strict as he was on the library floor, back in the storeroom they could be themselves without apparent criticism. In fact, it had gotten to the point that the original house members didn't so much as lower their voices when he walked in no matter what the topic of conversation, although Pimra and Connie often gave him nervous glances when he settled in the storeroom itself. But Lucky and the others had adopted the unusually docile Goblin as their unofficial house advisor, especially since he didn't seem to care less what they did as long as they actually got some studying done and stayed out of the main library.

Just outside the office door, Dale Chance took up a somewhat permanent table, watching with interest the comings and goings of those that passed within while he studied with any number of his friends who filled the seats next to him. Lucky was almost always late after coming in from practicing forms, and often, Dale noticed, Ambrose left relatively early, and always with his history book in hand.

That night was no exception, although Ambrose had a large folder with him as well this time as he ran up the stairs and up to the potion room where Pyther was carefully repairing the corner of a grateful group of witches, who all sat quietly with their hands on their laps as he worked.

"I have an announcement to make!" Ambrose declared smugly as he walked in.

"And what might that be, dear boy?" Francis asked, inspecting his threadwork before reinforcing it with a charm of his own and began the task of matching paint color.

"I have finished the bulk of my report," Ambrose said. "All that's left is that last addendum chapter for the past thirty years."

"Well done!" Francis said with a beaming smile, putting his palette on his worktable as Ambrose handed it out to him. "I take it you're not going to address that part, then?"

"Oh, no, I'm going to do that too," Ambrose said. "Uncle Severus gave me permission to interview anyone on staff when I asked him if I could work with you, so I'm going to talk to some of the people that were there for some of these events. I have an appointment with Aunt Jennifer tomorrow to clear up some things about the popcorn train and some details in the Battle of Unicorns."

"That sounds like it'll prove to be an interesting conversation," Francis said with amusement, flipping through the report.

"I don't suppose you'd have time to read this? Make sure the parts we worked on are right?" Ambrose asked.

"This looks like nearly a hundred pages," Francis chuckled. "But all right, of course I will."

"Oh, don't worry about the size. A third of it is references," Ambrose said, rolling his eyes. "Professor Scribe insisted, although it's not fair. She made me go into more detail than what the original book gave."

"It never hurts to have one's ducks in a row when it comes to research," Francis assured him, pulling up a stool. "Let me go ahead and look through it now so you can do what you need to finish it."

"All right," Ambrose said, and spent the time that Francis was reading looking at all the paintings in the room.

He stopped in front of the portrait of Francis for a few moments, tilting his head at it and knew something was wrong immediately. It was the darkness…the haunted gaze of living beyond his time that seemed strangely missing. Ambrose frowned at it, wondering if whoever painted it had done it intentionally. Ambrose looked over at Francis again, too absorbed in reading to notice. It was true that on the surface the artist had gotten his strange skin coloring right and the unnatural black of his hair and the red of his eyes, but there was no fear in the painting's eyes…no apparent echoes of his death showed in his face at all. In fact, after studying it a few minutes more, Ambrose had come to the conclusion that the artist had missed the subject entirely except for an occasional, wistful glance that appeared that he had seen Francis do from time to time when he was lost in thought.

Nearby, Ambrose spotted Alicia's portrait, recognizing her at once, and obviously by a much more skilled artist. Her gaze was soft and loving, her face bright and cheerful as he had never seen her before, and she wasn't even wearing black for a change.

"Is this one of yours?" Ambrose asked thoughtfully, and Francis glanced up, frowning slightly when he saw which painting he was standing under.

"Yes, I suppose I can hardly deny it," Francis said defensively. "Not my best work."

"Well, no, not if you don't bother finishing it," Ambrose said, still gazing at it. "You should finish it." Francis stared at him a moment, then shook his head.

"No, I don't think that'd be a good idea," Francis said, trying to concentrate on his reading again. "Besides, Alicia has changed so much that she isn't even the same person anymore."

"But that's what's so interesting about it," Ambrose said. "I've never seen her happy like this before. She's always been the broody artist! I've only seen her smile once, and that was right after she got her eyesight back, and that was more out of relief than anything."

"I can't imagine how terrible that must have been for her," Francis murmured.

"It wasn't a party for anyone else around her either," Ambrose grinned. "You should have seen what she did to her room." Francis gazed at the painting thoughtfully, not saying anything as Alicia gazed down out him lovingly. He never saw that look anymore, either. "I still say you should try picking up where you left off. Uncle Severus always says you should always finish what you start. Come to think of it, he's been saying that a lot to me, lately. He's gotten almost as obsessed about my report as I have."

"Yes, well, I doubt he would agree with you in this case. I rather like it the way it is, why spoil it?" Francis asked. Ambrose looked at him curiously.

"How could finishing it be spoiling it? Just add what's already there. If you want, I can send her a letter about it…"

"No, no, that's hardly necessary, I know where she is," Francis said, putting the report back in the folder. "Thank you, but it's probably best left alone."

"All right, what do I know, I'm only eight," Ambrose said with a shrug, and Francis smiled, tapping the folder as he held it back.

"You may be young, but you are the most profound eight year old I have ever met, and after six hundred years, I've met a great many," Francis assured him. "Your report looks fabulous, Mr. Bailey. I'm sure when you get it done even the Headmaster will be impressed."

"Thanks, though he's awful hard to impress about anything," Ambrose said.

"That much I know," Francis said with amusement. "Good evening, Mr. Bailey."

"Good night, Mr. Pyther, I'll let you know when I get the rest of it done," Ambrose promised before he ran out of the door to head back to his house rooms.

"That boy is so much like his father," said the voice of Icarus from behind Francis.

"He certainly is," Francis agreed with a smile before turning back to his palette to mix colors.

"Do you suppose he has a point about finishing the painting?" Icarus asked. Francis frowned at him disapprovingly.

"I can't touch that painting without ruining it, Icarus, and if you don't mind, I'm rather done with speaking of it."

"Very well, Francis," Icarus said somberly. "Although I can't help but thinking that it isn't the painting you're so afraid of ruining." Francis' expression turned cold and went back to his work, refusing to acknowledge the ghost's presence any longer.


	22. A Question of Parentage

Twenty-Two

A Question of Parentage

As Ambrose wandered back to his rooms after meeting with Pyther, he so busy thinking about his meeting with Jennifer the next day that he never got even the smallest feeling that anyone was watching him.

"There's the little freak now," Don murmured from where he sat, perched behind a statue. With so many of the secret passages closed off, it had proved to be a good place to watch the corridors, even if they weren't very useful in getting to class anymore.

"Where does he sneak off to every night?" Mike asked from where he sat with his back to the passage wall, looking over his finished homework and tried to make some sense of it. The last time Professor Weasley had called on him in class to get him to explain an answer on his homework had been disastrous, and he didn't want it to happen again.

"Still don't know for sure. Last time I tried to follow him the stairs changed on me," Don explained. "Quite a few floors up, though, I'm pretty sure it was a professor's room…perhaps even the Headmaster. But I did find Lucky in the gym with dear brother Andrew practicing her forms."

"She must be doing better than Craig and the others thought in Transfiguration then, if they're taking time for that," Mike said.

"Either that or they just don't care. After all, it's not her they're trying to protect," Don said, watching Ambrose disappear further down the hall.

"So you think Mum's right this time?" Mike asked thoughtfully. Don shrugged at him.

"It's really the only thing that makes sense," Don said. "I mean, why else cover it up? Wait, here comes Lena and some of the others. Let's head her off to Conspiracy."

"She won't talk," Mike said with a shrug. "She never does."

"If we keep pestering them, sooner or later one of them will trip up," Don said. "Come on."

The two of them ran down the short corridor and out from behind a bookcase, hopping into chairs at the chess table. Nearby, several of the older boys were playing Wizard Gin, not bothering with even a glance as they intently but expressionlessly watched each other, knowing more than likely that everyone else at the table was trying to cheat. A moment later, the Slytherin who had been at the library came in, and Don casually waved Lena over.

"Lena, how about taking winner?" Don asked.

"Oh, no thanks, Don, I still have some homework I want to get done before I go to bed," Lena explained, tapping her Charms book.

"What, again? Honestly, you're never caught up. Schroeder, tell Lena she really needs to turn her homework in to be copied," Don protested, looking to the card table for support.

"I would had I any complaints about her marks, but hers are adequate under the circumstances," the prefect said evenly, playing a card. "You'd be good to get yours further up as well if we're to get ahead of Ravenclaw's points before we leave for break, especially as many as you've lost with that mouth of yours lately." Don made a face, sulkily looking at his brother who was busy setting up the chessboard.

"I imagine some of it is coming from the company she keeps," Don said as if ready to go into another winded speech about house loyalty.

"I imagine so," Schroeder said easily, tapping his fingers on the table as he waited for the others to play their cards. "But a good Slytherin knows whose hand to grease to make sure they get the winning hand. Gin, by the way," he said, showing his hand. The rest of his housemates scowled in annoyance as he pulled in the coins on the center of the table. Using it as a distraction, Lena quickly hurried to her dorm room.

Mike looked over at his brother, who silently made his move, bringing out the knight. Mike nodded to him, knowing from his offensive approach that Don wasn't about to let his questions go unanswered much longer.

The next day Ambrose spent lunch with Jennifer, who in turn was glad for any excuse to get away from Hermione's rundown of filing of procedures for a day. Hearing that Ambrose had yet another private professor meeting, Don had finally decided he had had enough, skipping lunch so he could stake out the hallway but sending Mike along while he waited. It was not long after Mike had returned with a token meat roll that the office door opened, the two of them slipping around the corner so they wouldn't be seen. Ambrose and Jennifer both walked out, still chuckling over something Ambrose had said a moment before, but Don found he was positioned too far away to hear them.

"So does this mean you're about done, then?" Jennifer asked as she crossed the hall to her classroom, pausing in the door.

"Well…I do have some more questions about the Ciardoth thing…"

"Ambrose, what more could you want that I didn't tell you already?" Jennifer asked with exasperation.

"But you weren't there for all of it, Aunt Jennifer. I want to know more about how she was destroyed…"

"To be perfectly honest, Ambrose, I don't think the Headmaster wants any more told about it than was already told," Jennifer frowned disapprovingly.

"Well, I do need more points of view, though. I have appointments for Madame Brittle and Andrew, but, well, it just wouldn't be a complete report, would it, if I didn't get his point of view too?" Ambrose asked hopefully. Jennifer sighed and shook her head with a smile.

"All right, I'll see about getting you another appointment, but don't expect him to say much even if he does agree to meet you," she warned him. Ambrose grinned. "Now I need to relieve Professor Ravenclaw, so why don't you run along so I can get him out of my classroom?"

"Yes, ma'am," Ambrose said, walking down the corridor.

Jennifer paused when she saw someone else was in the classroom and moved out of the way so Dale Chance could get through, wondering why the boy might want to meet Ick for when he wasn't even in Divination. Jennifer squinted at Ick, but Icarus decided to just disappear and leave Jennifer to ponder that for herself. Around the corner, Don was more than a bit afraid that Dale would decide to walk Ambrose back to the Great Hall. But after a quick hello, Dale went the other direction, slipping in the Trophy Room while Ambrose headed towards them and the other classrooms.

"What's the rush, Bailey?" Don asked when the boy passed by them, the twins leaning against the wall with the hand in their pockets. Ambrose turned in surprise, glancing between the twins thoughtfully as the two boys walked over to block his path.

"Don't you two have anything better to do than to follow me around every day?" Ambrose asked with exasperation. "Like bringing your marks up, maybe?"

"Our marks are none of your business, and if a certain Weasel happens to be informing you we're failing or something, I think she's probably exaggerated. Of course they're not as stellar as yours are, but we don't have the entire staff dithering to feed us test results, either," Don said. "Though I admit I'm rather surprised Professor Craw is in on it, too."

"Nobody's in on anything," Ambrose said.

"Right, Bailey. You spend hours in the back of the library, sneak off every night for secret meetings, and every Professor has had their doors open to you since the start of the school year. You have privileges to the Prefect's bath and the restricted section in the library, and that's dancing around the real question of how you snuck in this school in the first place, because no matter what anyone says, you couldn't have done it without the staff helping you," Don said.

"I don't have to answer to you," Ambrose said and tried to get around them, but Don pushed him back.

"You had better," he warned.

"I'm not afraid of a pair of first years that can't even hold their wands properly," Ambrose told them.

"Listen, you little bastard," Don growled, "we're not letting you leave until you own up to who your father is." Ambrose stared at him. "It's obvious everyone's protecting him, so you might as well be out with it!"

"What are you talking about?" Ambrose asked. "I don't have a father!"

"Everyone has a father you stupid nipper, your mother ain't Mary," Don said.

"Tom, more like it," Mike smirked.

"So own up, who is it?" Don said.

"I don't know!" Ambrose snapped. "And that's the truth, so leave me alone!"

"Bill?" the three of them looked up to see Lucky running down the hall, immediately pulling Ambrose back. "'Ey, back off the kid, what's your problem?"

"He was about to tell us who his father is," Don said.

"I already told you I don't know," Ambrose said.

"You really don't know? Your Mother didn't bother telling you?" Don said dubiously.

"Maybe his mother don't know," Mike suggested.

"You want a fist to the face?" Lucky snapped.

"I'd have a wand out before you got there," Mike said, unworried.

"Perhaps he does have a point," Don said, changing his tone. "Just what sort of shop does your mother run anyhow, a dress shop or an undress shop?" Mike snickered, but when Lucky came forward he quickly pulled out his wand. "Tell me, Bailey, just how does it feel to be the spawn of the whore of Hogsmeade?"

Suddenly the torch beside them flickered erratically as Ambrose brought up both of his hands. A bright blast of light blinded Lucky, throwing her backwards. She blinked a few times to clear her vision, spots still in her eyes when she finally saw Don and Mike on the ground with their robes smoldering, moaning weakly in pain. Ambrose was nowhere to be seen.

"_Qué pasó?_" she murmured, slowly getting to her feet and going over to check on the two boys. Their faces and hands were red and they were both shaking a little, but otherwise they seemed in one piece, at least.

"Wait 'til I get my hands on Bailey," Don murmured, wincing in pain as he turned on his side to try and get up. "I'm going to make him wish he'd never been born…even more than the Headmaster wishes it." Lucky blinked at him.

"I'm telling Mum. He'll be kicked out for sure this time," Mike murmured back. It was then that Lucky heard footsteps and suddenly grew worried that perhaps they were right, for whatever Ambrose did, it wasn't a casual spell. Making up her mind, she pulled out her wand, flicking it at the two of them.

"_Rattus Finkus!_" Lucky cast, the curse throwing out a yellow light on both the boys. She took off the opposite direction from where she heard the footsteps and hid behind a corner.

Severus had been near the Charms room talking to Hermione when the lights flickered, a fleeting look of terror crossing his face before his reason took hold.

"What could have possibly caused that?" Hermione asked, her face pale as she too thought momentarily of Ciardoth.

Severus gazed at her as if searching for a reply of his own and then began to wonder. Remembering that Ambrose had been talking to Jennifer, he hurried down the corridor towards the potions room with Hermione on his heels, and it wasn't long at all before they found the two stunned boys and were kneeling down to look over their burns.

"Almost looks like a brief electric shock," Hermione commented.

"What happened?" Severus asked, gently helping Mike to sit up. "Were you sparring in the halls?" Mike shook his head. "Then why is your wand on the floor?"

"We didn't do anything!" Don blurted out angrily. "It was…" suddenly his words were cut off short, and Severus looked over in surprise to see a large singed rat where Don had been. Severus squinted at him.

"He was trying to say it was…"

"No, wait!" Severus snapped, but it was too late, for Mike too quickly changed into the form of a rat as well. "Exactly who gave anyone permission to teach the students that spell?"

"You did," Hermione said with thin smile. "It's listed in the second year Transfiguration book." Severus scowled.

"Well, it will be easier to get them to the hospital ward this way, I suppose. After that, we need to find Ambrose Bailey," Severus said, glancing around suspiciously as he picked up Mike.

"Are you sure he had something to do with it?" Hermione asked, gently picking up Don in return.

"Quite positive, although I'm not completely sure he was working alone," he added before heading down the corridor. Lucky winced slightly from where she hid behind the corner, realizing her interference did nothing but get her into trouble as well. They would certainly have little trouble finding the countercurse, and then she could only imagine what Don and Mike's version of the story would be like, not to mention what they'd leave out. And where was Ambrose? Torn between either looking for her friend or heading to the medical ward, Lucky paced a moment, ignoring the fact that the halls were filling up with students getting ready for their next class. Deciding that damage control was going to help Ambrose more in the long run, she decided to go find the Professor.

When Ambrose finally stopped running, he wasn't even sure where he was any longer. All he wanted to do at the point was to get as far away from everyone else as possible, and wasn't even quite sure what floor he was on. It was when he reached a dead-end corridor in an unused section of the castle that he slumped to the ground and burst into tears, pulling up his legs and burying his face in his arms. He had been crying for a few minutes when he heard the alarming noise of someone clearing his throat and looked up in fear of who it might be only to discover there was no one standing there.

"Are you all right, my boy?" a man's voice said.

Startled, Ambrose rubbed his face and looked around again.

"Up and behind you, son," the voice said gently, and Ambrose quickly stood up and turned around. There he saw a charcoal sketch of Stonehenge on plain brown paper, but in the foreground was an old wizard with a beard as white as snow and eyes even bluer than the color of his robes, gazing at him steadily. "Might I ask what it is you're crying about?"

"Oh…nothing," Ambrose said unsurely.

"Really? You don't seem like the sort of boy who would cry about nothing to me," he said rather decisively, then lowered his chin as he lowered his voice. "Have you been fighting?"

"I didn't mean to," Ambrose said defensively, the man's eyes still gazing at him, unblinking. "Well, I guess I did mean to…but I didn't mean to do it like I did do it…oh never mind," he said at last, realizing he was babbling to a painting. But strangely enough, the painting seemed to have very little trouble following him. He simply glanced around a moment then made himself comfortable on a fallen stone.

"Well, now that intent has been firmly established, do you mind telling me exactly what it was that got you so worked up that made you do what you hadn't intended to do but meant to do?" Ambrose blinked at him, trying to work that out but realized it was pretty close to what he had said himself.

"Are you supposed to be here?" Ambrose asked.

"No. Are you?" the old wizard asked. Ambrose looked sullen. "It was the Coventry boys, wasn't it?"

"They called me a bastard," Ambrose muttered.

"Yes, well, so what if you are?" the wizard said. "What does it matter, especially in your century? I could probably name a lot of famous bastards. King Arthur comes to mind, along with a few others, well, not to mention myself, of course." Ambrose looked up at him thoughtfully. "It's hardly anything you should be ashamed of, and besides, as far as I'm concerned you were much more legitimate in being born than quite a few others I could name…but I won't," he added, dusting some of the charcoal off his chosen seat. "Either way, it's no excuse for you to have behaved like you did."

"That wasn't all of it," Ambrose protested, the wizard gazing at him again.

"Well, out with it, son, I imagine someone will come looking for you before too long," the wizard said.

"They were calling my mother names too," Ambrose said, feeling his face grow warm again. The old man furrowed his white brows at the boy. "About how maybe she didn't know who my father was either."

"Oh, I see…" the wizard said, thoughtfully pulling on his beard. "I suppose a boy has a right to defend his mother if the accusations are warranted. Are they?" he asked, eyeing the boy intently.

"How would I know?" Ambrose snapped.

"Well, if you don't, I don't know who would. After all, she raised you," the wizard frowned at him. "Can I assume from your reaction to the insults at hand you've a decent understanding of the birds and bees already?"

"Yes, of course," Ambrose said with a sigh.

"Good. I doubt the Headmaster would approve of my teaching philosophies on that matter. Ambrose, I am quite sure you don't really think your mother is the type not to know who your father is," he said.

"Then why won't she tell me who it is?" Ambrose snapped angrily. "Why won't anybody?"

"Well, now, I'm hardly going to sit here and try to guess what anyone else thinks any more than you should try to," the wizard said. "The best way to know someone's thoughts on any subject is to ask them. Why do any mothers keep things from their children? Love? Protection? Perhaps even for selfish reasons on occasion, but since I know that you know that your mother is a very selfless sort of person I wouldn't consider uttering such nonsense in your presence."

"Just how would a Hogwarts painting know about my mother, anyhow?" Ambrose challenged him.

"Do you know, I think we're getting off the subject," the wizard said. "We were speaking of the way you react when someone quite intentionally instigates you. There are better ways of dealing with the Coventry boys than trying to blast them to kingdom come, even if you feel they might deserve it on occasion," he added. "Now, I am going to help get you out of trouble this once, even though it'll be bordering on me breaking a few promises that don't need broken just yet. But the only way it'll work is if you do exactly as I tell you."

"How do I know if I can trust you?" Ambrose asked.

"Well, if it doesn't work out, then you'll know not to trust me again, won't you?" the old wizard said mischievously. "Now, Ambrose, listen very carefully. I want you to follow the wall and bear right until you get to the main stairwell and go straight down to Professor Andrew's office. Don't worry, he'll be in there, he has a conference this hour. I want you to walk straight in and ask him if you can borrow a book entitled, '_An Intimate Study of the Right Vs. Might Theory'_…actually there's more to the title but that's all you'll need to tell him. When he asks you why you want the book, I want you to tell him exactly what happened downstairs and that you were asked to read it."

"But what do I tell him if he asks me who told me to read it?" Ambrose asked as the wizard stood back up.

"Don't worry, son, he won't ask," the wizard assured him. "He won't have to. Now you'd best run along, Ambrose. Oh, and the next time you're tempted to um…assert yourself…put your hands in your pockets. Perhaps it'll help remind you to keep your head clear and not wear your heart on your sleeve. There's a good lad, off with you now, and don't forget what you're supposed to do."

"All right," Ambrose said, not quite sure why he was going along with it, but somehow knowing it was the right thing to do all the same. Merlin smiled softly to himself as he watched him go, waiting until he was out of view before stepping out of the frame.

Lucky got to the ward just as Ginny was giving each of the boys a plate of potion-laced cheese, the two of them slowly returning to their normal rotten selves as Hermione and Severus looked on. As they sat up and looked around, they both happened to notice Lucky by the door and let out shrill squeaks and squeals in response.

"Oh, dear. Must have been an old bottle," Ginny frowned, picking up the potion bottle she had used and smelling it.

"I'll have Jennifer make you up a fresh batch," Severus said distractedly, squinting at Lucky when he saw it was she they were making the fuss about. "And just what exactly are you doing here, Miss Snape?"

"Figured you'd wanna see me about the curse anyhow, so I thought I'd save you the trip," Lucky shrugged.

"Lucky Snape! You cursed those boys?" Hermione said, completely aghast.

"Just the rat thing. I didn't give them the sun tan," Lucky admitted.

"Then may I inquired as to who did?" she asked.

"No," Lucky said.

"Well at least tell us why you cursed them," Hermione frowned. Lucky looked over at them and back at Hermione and shrugged.

"Miss Snape, I suggest you answer your advisor, because if you do not, you are going to have to answer to me," Severus said, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"Okay, it's a deal. I talk to you," Lucky agreed. Blinking in surprise, Severus then scowled at her and took her by the arm, leading her out of the room.

"I hardly have time for this sort of thing. I hope you have a good reason, Fortuna," Severus said, quickly leading her to the stairs. "And where is Ambrose?"

"I dunno, he took off right after it happened," Lucky said, feeling a little dizzy when they started up the steps. Severus still hadn't let go of her arm and steadied her as they got to the landing, and Lucky slowed down a moment and stared down the stairwell, wondering how they had gotten to the fifteenth floor so quick. But Severus firmly pulled her back to his side and they reached the statue of a dragon with batlike wings.

"'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, always ends up the Headmaster's problem.'" Severus quoted. The statue began to move to reveal the spiral stair.

"Funny," Lucky commented.

"Up, Fortuna," Severus said curtly, the doors opening in front of her as they stepped into the Study. Severus past her and went to his desk, opening a drawer to look inside.

"Looking for Ambrose?" Lucky asked. Grimacing at her, Severus pulled the map out, inspecting it.

"Lucky for him, it appears Andrew found him first," Severus said after he had searched a few minutes, folding it back up and putting it away. "As for you, I find it quite ironic that you chose to curse those boys with a spell from a class you are at the very bottom of."

"Ya," Lucky said, not having thought about it. "Worked good though, didn't it?"

"Yes, and in the process put yourself in the crossfire of a very volatile cold war that has been raging between the board and myself since this year began. Do you know what I am referring to, Fortuna?" Severus asked.

"Ya," Lucky said somberly. Severus merely stared at her, waiting. "I was afraid they'd get Ambrose into trouble, especially after he did…well, whatever it was, it didn't look normal to me."

"I see. And then you decided to come clean when you heard me mention his name in the hall," Severus said.

"How did you know about that?" Lucky said with surprise until Severus lifted up the chain around his neck so she could see it. "Oh ya, forgot," she admitted ruefully. "But those twins got what they deserved, if you ask me…"

"I didn't ask you, and whatever they did, it's not your place to intervene. In fact…"

"They've been pickin' on him about his parentage!" Lucky broke in angrily, making Severus blink in surprise. "They've been doin' it for awhile now, trying to find out who his father is! Today, they started takin' shots as his mother, and after they started sayin' his mother was a whore and all, that's when he lost it, and I would of tried to ring their necks too if he hadn't gotten them first."

"How long has this been going on?" Severus demanded.

"I dunno. At least since the Hufflepuff game, that was the first time I heard them calling Ambrose a bastard."

"Why wasn't I…no, never mind, that part isn't your fault," Severus said. "Tonks and Craw, before dinner," he growled. Suddenly his appointment book opened and the quill wrote their names in.

"Professor, while we're on the subject, I need to ask you something, and I need you to be straight with me," Lucky said.

"I may not be able to answer it," Severus said curtly.

"Well, I'm gonna ask anyhow, because I wanna know just exactly how deep we're in here," Lucky said so fervently that Severus raised a brow. "Are you Ambrose's father?"

Severus blinked once and then stared at her for a moment, as if attempting to comprehend the question. But Lucky was gazing back at him with such a serious expression that he knew for whatever reason the possibility had frightened her.

"No, Fortuna, I am not," Severus said. "Had that been the truth, I would not have kept it from Ambrose or you or the rest of the family, assuming that Jennifer would still have been around, that is. For some reason I highly doubt it," he added dryly. "As if I could have ever kept anything of that magnitude from her for that long, even if I were still capable of having more children, which I'm not, by the way." Lucky gazed at him searchingly for a moment more than suddenly relaxed from obvious relief. "Might I inquire just where that came from?"

"Oh, just one of the things the twins said made me wonder," Lucky said. Severus groaned.

"Don't tell me they have Ambrose believing that too?" he asked.

"No, he wasn't around for that part," Lucky assured him. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if the idea occurred to him."

"If it comes up, you may tell him otherwise," Severus said firmly.

"It'll come up if those twins have their way," Lucky said. "I got the feeling that maybe what they've been after is some sort of proof that maybe you are his father."

"They can't find evidence that isn't there, Fortuna…"

"Ya, but they're making Ambrose's life miserable in the process," Lucky complained. "Can't you or his mother just tell everyone who his real father is, even if it's just to keep people off his back about it?"

"I'm sorry, Fortuna, but what you ask is more dangerous than you know, and quite impossible," Severus said firmly.

"Why? Was he like, bad or something'?" Lucky asked, making Severus chew on his tongue again. "Because if he was like, well, my father was or somethin' like that, you can tell me. I'll keep him from finding out." Severus sat there and gazed at her, exhaling at finding himself at a stalemate.

Just then, there was a firm knock at the door, and Severus opened it, somewhat grateful for the interruption. Aurelius stepped in, closing the door behind him.

"Don't mind me, I'll wait," Aurelius said expressionlessly.

"I should have known it would be you, as quickly as my afternoon has been unraveling," Severus said dryly, and then glanced at Lucky. "Now is not the time to be discussing this, Fortuna, but there will be a time, I'm sure. But for now, I cannot stress enough that I want you and Ambrose both to stay away from those Coventry boys, for the school's sake if not your own. With any luck, that situation will improve after you get back from the holidays. At least, it will if I have anything at all to contribute to the subject."

"Good thing I'm Lucky then," Lucky said with a grin.

"Back to your classes, Fortuna," Severus said with a frown.

"Tardy slip?"

"If I pick up my quill for any reason at the moment it'll be to schedule a detention, care to press that supposed luck of yours?" Severus said.

"Fine, I'm outta here," Lucky said, Aurelius grabbing the door for her as she headed out and closing it behind her.

"I gather your presence here, considering the conversation I was having, is hardly a coincidence," Severus said, gesturing to a seat.

"Not a coincidence, no, but I'm not sure you realize yet just how perilous that secret is right now of getting out," Aurelius said, sitting down. "At least, as far as Ambrose knowing about it is concerned." Severus squinted at him.

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't know how, but for the last hour or so I've gotten a very strong impression that Ambrose has made some sort of contact with the old man somehow," Aurelius said.

Severus frowned at him and then thought of something, heading towards the doors. Picking it up immediately, Aurelius followed him out and down the stairs to the ninth floor, neither of them saying a word as they walked into the Containment Room. He scowled at the covered painting suspiciously but went over to the wall instead to find his own portrait standing in Dumbledore's frame looking for a new book to read, while Dumbledore stood with Jennifer on the parapet. But Severus wasn't going to get distracted by the curious behavior, getting his own portrait's attention instead.

"Has anyone been in this room today?" Severus asked him. The portrait nodded and pulled on a pair of gloves. "Anyone besides John? Any students?" he asked, the portrait of Severus shaking his head in response. "Have any students been in here at all without Pyther or a staff member present?" The portrait shook his head again. "Hm."

"Well, either there's another painting around here, or he's back," Aurelius said.

"Another painting is the only explanation. Even if he were back, he would not be able to get to Ambrose without my knowing it," Severus said firmly, turning towards the door. "I can't think that Jennifer or John would have failed to mention it had either noticed him in a painting, though I wouldn't be surprised if he's been intentionally hiding."

"Pyther will know," Aurelius said.

"He won't be in tonight," Severus said, walking back towards the door. "I'll try sending him a flame. Come, I want to find out from Andrew what was done about the incident with Ambrose in the hall, and then I'll speak to John and Jennifer about being on the lookout for that rogue painting."

But as they were walking out, John was running over to meet them.

"There you are, Professor!" John said.

"What now?" Severus frowned. "More paintings?"

"Aye," John said somberly. "And another house room guard at that."

"Why me," Severus muttered under his breath, closing the reinforced doors with a clang before following him down the hall.

"You think they're going to find Merlin?" the painting of Danny asked when the door shut.

"Not unless he wants to be found," Corey said. A soft glow suddenly entered the painting as Dumbledore walked into the painting classroom with a wisp light in hand. "Is it going to be much longer, professor?" Albus simply smiled at the boy reassuringly, gesturing for them to stay quiet, pointing over at the Severus portrait who was straining to see them, squinting. "Well, I hope Mr. Pyther enjoys his day off, 'cuz if this wave is as bad as I think it is, he isn't gonna get another for awhile," Corey sighed.


	23. A Night at the Louvre

Twenty-Three

A Night at the Louvre

Alicia noticed movement by the door and looked up from the research desk curiously, breaking into a smile when she saw it was Jacob kicking off his boots.

"You're back!" she said cheerfully, carefully stepping around the equipment to meet him, hugging him warmly. "How was California?"

"Hot and muggy, a balmy sixty degrees, absolutely terrible," he said, making Alicia grin. "Of course it's not the heat, it's the humidity that'll get you. It's so glad to be home, and home it is now!" he said gazing around with a wistful smile. "Well, half of it, at any rate…"

"Oh stop it, did you get the loan or not?" Alicia asked impatiently, and he grinned, pulling out a scroll case.

"Thanks to a successful artist cosigner, I did," he said, showing her the loan and deed paperwork.

"Congratulations!" Alicia said. "Although I still think you should have let me float the loan myself."

"I couldn't have possibly," Jacob said, pulling out another scroll from my tube. "And my dissolution scroll. I'm now officially a free man."

"Well, I'm glad they at least awarded you your equipment," Alicia said, looking it over.

"I can't complain too much. And what would she have done with my equipment? I don't even mind buying out her share of the property…I had rather gotten attached to the place," Jacob said. "Although she did try to fight it at first, of course, but she gave up after Vallid showed up. Even Mr. Platt came and testified that she'd been seeing someone, it was all downhill after that."

"I hope she learned something from it," Alicia said with a sigh. "But I doubt it."

"Well, anyway, where is your friend? I thought you said he was keeping you company while you got stuck here looking after my readings," Jacob said, looking around.

"Oh, he keeps a weird schedule. He's probably sleeping at the moment," Alicia said. "He won't be around for a couple of hours."

"Well, that's good news for me then," Jacob said, rubbing his hands. "Come on, let's go out to eat to celebrate."

"What? Now?" Alicia said in surprise. "What about your readings?"

"Well, a couple of hours won't hurt it too much," Jacob said, going over and glancing at his charts. "And the activity is low at the moment. Besides, answer me truthfully, when was the last time you went out to eat with anyone?"

"Well…"

"Not counting relatives or clients," he put in.

"Well, not counting relatives or clients, I'd say never," Alicia admitted with a wry grin.

"Then what are you waiting for? This is the best time any how, we won't need reservations at the Snow Crab this early in the morning, come on. It's the least I can do after you helped me secure that loan. I accepted your painting, didn't I?" he added.

"All right, you win," Alicia chuckled and he beamed at her, checking over her work the last couple of days while she got ready to go.

Even though like most places in Polaris Town the restaurant was twenty-four hours, it was slow as Jacob had expected and the two of them got right in. It was almost comical how Jacob picked through the entire menu trying to find the items that were least endangered or over-fished, while Alicia decided to order the local sampler and the house brew.

"How can you eat that?" he asked in a low voice, trying not to chuckle as she sampled the raw walrus meat.

"If it wasn't edible they wouldn't serve it," Alicia chided him.

"It's only edible if you're a polar bear," Jacob teased.

"Oh, nonsense," Alicia chuckled back at him. "At least it's not a salad and farmed salmon."

"Well, what do you expect an environmentalist to eat?" he chuckled. "This is why I don't normally like going out except for desert."

"Well, the way you're eating, you'll have plenty of room," she scolded him. "The prices here are by the plate, not by the ounce."

"Yes, well, we can always refreeze it for our own version of Cast'N'Consumes," he joked back. The two of them chuckled for a moment before concentrating on their food for a few minutes. "So…" Jacob finally said, picking at his lettuce distractedly. "What's it like dating a vampire?"

"Oh, we're not dating," Alicia said quickly. "We're just friends."

"Really?" Jacob said as if not quite believing it. "You two have been out nearly every day since you met…touring, skating, painting expeditions, sports…"  
"I'm just getting acquainted with what the area has to offer, that's all," Alicia said.

"Uh huh," Jacob said. "Well, that never interested you before…"

"I was busy trying to figure out how to paint the aurora before," Alicia explained, playing with the foam in her drink. "I've become rather fascinated with the Polar Elves lately, there's so many myths about them. He's been taking me to areas great for sketching, you know, all the local haunts and things…"

"But it's not dating," Jacob pressed.

"He was my art teacher as a child, we're just friends," Alicia said, not looking up from her drink. "Although really, I think we were closer then than we are now. Ever since we met again, it's like he's just going through the motions."

"Well…by definition, don't all vampires just go through the motions?" Jacob said quietly. "They are technically undead."

"Pyther is different than most vampires," Alicia said. "He's never been tainted by what happened to him…he nearly starved himself after being inflicted by it rather than hurt anyone, but his art gave him something to live for."

"Hm, live for? Unlive for?" Jacob pondered, but waved it off. "And despite your claim that you are 'not dating' you seem rather taken with him."

"What does that matter when he all he does is keep me at a distance," Alicia said bitterly. "I am glad to see him again, don't get me wrong. I've waited years for us to meet. I just thought it'd be more than what I got."

"I know that feeling. I thought marriage would be more than I got," Jacob said. Alicia brought herself back from her thoughts, looking at him apologetically. "But anyhow, if you are serious about, you know, the two of you not dating, I was wondering how you would feel about actually dating…you know…anyone…generally speaking." Alicia gazed at him, his eyes both hopeful and guarded at the same time.

"I think I would have to move out," Alicia said bluntly. "Two weeks left or not."

"Oh, well…never mind that then, forget I said anything," Jacob said quickly, suddenly interested in his food. "It's not worth ruining our professional relationship for, I rather like how things are now."

"Yes, me too," Alicia said, attempting not to show how uncomfortable she felt.

"Nice dinner, though. We should try to get out more, you know, professionally speaking. After all, you can hardly go out to eat with your friend, or spend an afternoon on the beach in Saint Trop like we used to do with Zoë from time to time," he said.

"Sure," Alicia said, drinking her brew down and glancing at her watch. "You know, we should be getting back."

"Probably right…no, no, I have it," he insisted with a smile, getting the waiter's attention. "You two have interesting plans for the day?"

"I have no idea yet," Alicia admitted, but it was just as well. Suddenly she didn't want to talk about it. "But I really should show you what I picked up on your instruments while you were gone before I go anywhere."

"I can't wait, I'm sure you did a great job," he said with a warm smile, nearly as grateful as Alicia was for the change in subject.

As always, Alicia met Francis near the Pole for their excursion, grimacing a bit when she Apparating in to find him doodling to pass the time.

"I'm sorry I'm a bit late, I didn't mean to keep you waiting," she said.

"Oh, well, you're only a little late," Francis said with a smile, unconcernedly.

"Jacob decided to take me out to eat to celebrate his getting the research center," Alicia explained.

"So it all worked out?" Francis asked brightly.

"If you ask me, she got more than she deserved, but he's happy just to have his work secured and to be free of her," Alicia said. Francis chuckled at that. "So, where to this time? The Ninety?"

"Actually, I was wondering how you felt about getting out of the area for the day," Francis said.

"That sounds absolutely fabulous," Alicia said with such open enthusiasm that he chuckled.

"Then it's just as well you're running a bit behind anyhow, since I wanted to be sure the sun had set for where I had in mind," Francis said with an enigmatic smile. "You see, I happened to get word that the Louvre du Magie has rotated back in some of my older paintings, and it's open until ten tonight, so I was wondering if you'd be interested in going?"

"Would I!" Alicia said excitedly. "Do you know, I've never been? Can we stop by the main museum too?"

"You've never been? For shame, Alicia," he tsked. "Then by all means we need to go to the main museum, although we need to watch the time, the place is immense. I can't fathom how you missed it in your study of Da Vinci…and you call yourself an artist!"

"Things always came up and I never got that far," Alicia explained.

"Shall we take the ports then?"

"Paintings are faster," Alicia protested, "And it's free."

"Well, in that case, let's head to my studio," Francis chuckled. "I happened to pull out a few of my old sketches from there, just in case…but…perhaps it's better if we landed outside of the museum? I can't imagine what poor reception we'd get if we jumped in from there."

"All right, all right, I'll meet you at your place, I'm going to run home and grab my cloak and ditch the arctic coat," Alicia said with a chuckle, Disapparating.

The two of them looked through the paintings before they finally decided on a watercolor of a wizard's café. Alicia stepped in and offered Francis Pyther a hand, leading them out of the frame. It seemed to take a minute or two of walking in the darkness before several other frames appeared in the distance. Alicia paused only a moment before choosing one and the two jumped down out of a casual painting of wines and cheese just inside the café's door. Alicia looked around carefully, but either those in the dark, smoky establishment didn't care or didn't notice.

"This is _La Sorcière Pâle_," Francis said, leading her towards the door. "Not one of the most reputable cafés, I suppose, but it does have its share of blood wines. Anyhow, we're in a small wizard district near Beauxbatons, but we can take a buggy from here to where we're going."

"Sounds fine," Alicia said as they stepped outside into the fresh air. Quite a number of tables were scattered about in front of the café overlooking the river, and unlike inside, quite a number of people looked up curiously at them as they came out, watching them as they went to what looked like a cabby stand. A moment later, a horse-drawn cab rolled out of a sudden mist and Francis opened the door for her with a smile before talking to the driver and getting in after her. "Well! Isn't this romantic," Alicia said with a grin.

"Of course! It's Paris," Francis grinned back as the cabby took to the streets.

Alicia peered out the window with interest as the dim, quiet streets of the magic district slowly melted as the glow of the lights of Paris took their place. The water seemed almost golden from the reflections, and Alicia spent time admiring some of the fountains and arches, itching to sketch, when she heard Francis digging in his art kit. She turned, planning to give him a hard time about it, but noticed he had pulled out a large jar of cream makeup, staring at him in surprise as he began rubbing it on his face.

"What are you doing?" she asked. He in turn seemed slightly surprised as well, grinning wanly at her.

"Well, if we're going to take a peek in the Muggle section, I can't very well go as I am, can I? They'll be calling in medics or a coroner or something," he chuckled, rubbing on his neck, ears and arms as well.

"You don't look all that unnatural, Pyther," Alicia protested. Francis smiled at her gently.

"My dear, you grew up in the magic world and you've known me since you were little," he said, holding her hand when he saw the dark look come across her face. "But what to you seems commonplace sticks out in other environments like a dragon raised in a newt farm. How do I look?" he asked.

"Pink," she said dryly, watching as he got out a pair of sunglasses and put them on.

"Oh, drat, I forgot the nail polish," he said, Alicia raising her brows as he inspected them. "Well, it'll just have to do, and we won't be staying in the Muggle section long," he said as much to himself as to her. Alicia sighed silently and gazed out of the window without really looking at anything. "Alicia, come look over here!"

Francis put his arm around her to pull her over to his side of the cab so she could see, but for a moment she had trouble concentrating on anything besides the fact he had a hand on her waist as they passed under the arches of a large building. But as they cleared it, Alicia found herself gazing at a glass pyramid and hundreds of glowing lamplights around the courtyard in breathtaking order.

"I need my sketch book," Alicia said, and Francis laughed.

"No, no, not yet! You'll have time for that later. The driver will let us off near the wizard's section, we can walk down to the main museum from there," Francis said as the driver began to slow down to a stop. Nobody seemed to see them as they stepped out onto the mall, although a number of people were still walking around, many taking pictures.

"Hope there isn't too much of a crowd in there tonight, but there probably will be," Francis warned as they stepped inside. A middle-aged witch sitting behind a desk in the entrance area looked up as they came in with a smile, and Francis took out a small card engraved in gold and handed it to her.

"Ah yes, Mr. Pyther, is it?" she said in Français but frowned, turning it over. "But there's no photo on your museum card."

"Oh yes," Francis answered, then pulled out a scroll, handing it to her. "The curator wrote this up for me a while ago. I'm photographically challenged, you see," he explained with a fanged smile. Alicia stifled her laughter as the woman read the note and glanced at the sketch, before looking him over more closely.

"Ah, yes, your pardon, Mr. Pyther," she said, handing them back, looking over a guest list carefully. "And this is?"

"My guest for the evening, Miss Alicia Snape," Francis said, and she smiled and nodded cordially to her before pulling out a large guest book.

"Welcome, it seems we've been expecting you. Will you be needing a guide for the evening?" she asked, offering him a quill.

"Perhaps later, but first I would like to take my friend to view _La Jaconde_," Francis said, signing the book and handing the quill to Alicia.

"Oh, that thing," the witch said in a tone that betrayed her lack of appreciation for Muggle art. She dug out a pair of maps and made a few marks on the main one. "It's back in la Salle des États now. Take the first corridor on the right and head down the stairs, then up to the first floor through the Galerie…this will show you from there."

"Thank you," Francis said enthusiastically as he glanced over the maps before the two of them headed inside.

It was rather fortunate that the hallway connecting the wizard section to the main museum was bare of anything but a few statues that seemed to be placed there because they had nowhere better to go. Because the moment they got into the museum proper, Alicia wanted to stop and look at everything. Even Francis, who had been there several times before, found himself getting distracted by either what Alicia was looking at or a painting or statue nearby, only to glance down at his watch now and again and have to remind himself it wasn't their main goal for the evening.

"We'll just have to come back some other time, there's just too much to try and do in one night," Francis said, insistently pulling her through the Galerie.

"Oh, I know, I feel like I could spend days trying to see it all!" Alicia agreed, her head still creening around. Francis smiled weakly at her before leading her on until they entered a large crowded room, filled entirely with Veronese paintings that made Alicia want to kick herself for never making it there before.

"I haven't been here since they moved her, this is very nice!" Francis said, apparently impressed in the room in general, while Alicia was completely absorbed in studying each painting, getting as close to each as she could to see the brush strokes while Francis stayed back a bit, more interested in studying her than the paintings themselves. After several minutes she looked around to see where he was, smiling at him and trying to work her way out of the crowd.

Francis felt a tug on his sleeve and looked down to see a young boy standing there.

"Why are your nails blue?" he asked. Francis leaned down a bit.

"Perhaps because I didn't drink enough milk when I was your age," Francis suggested. The boy stared at him a moment before walking away to find his mother, bumping into people as he looked at his nails.

"Fibber," Alicia chuckled as she over to him.

"Well, maybe just a little white one," Francis said with a smile. "So what do you think?"

"Oh, the background is amazing on that painting, the photos I've seen don't do it any justice," Alicia said with appreciation, "But the _Marriage of Cana_…even without movement I think I could look at it for hours and keep finding something new about it!"

"We will definitely have to come back," Francis said with a smile.

"Oh, definitely. I would be half tempted to move out here for awhile now that the height of the season is over at the research center, but I already promised to come home for a few months and help Alexandria with the baby."

"Now, why do I have the feeling she's already going to get more help than she could possibly want," Francis teased, following her around the room until she gazed at the huge painting that had captivated her again.

"Well, she and Ben are still trying to pay off his schooling so they can start saving for their own place, so they need a cheap babysitter during the day, and since I can work anywhere on any schedule, why not?"

"Definitely benefits to the job that has kept me afloat all these years," Francis agreed with a chuckle. He then spotted someone standing against the wall just outside the room that looked a bit out of place that seemed to be watching them quietly. The wizard made a gesture as if to indicate they take their time, but Francis leaned over to Alicia. "I believe our guide is here."

"Oh! Well, alright, but I'm not leaving this area without taking a closer look at that Napoleon one we passed a moment ago," Alicia protested as Francis led her over.

"It is an honor, Mr. Pyther," the wizard said with a smile the moment they came close. "I am Jean Merle, I've been sent by the curator of the magic wing to be at your disposal for the rest of the evening."

"Thank you. This is my good friend and fellow artist, Alicia Snape," Francis said. Jean paused a moment as in thought.

"Ah yes, the British Illustrator, correct?" he asked with a smile.

"Painter," Alicia said, a little annoyed.

"Your pardon, mademoiselle, I meant no offense. I have seen your work in Laeo's newest copy of Exotic Herbology," he explained with a smile. "You have a great deal of potential."

"She definitely does," Francis said quickly when it was obvious that Jean's sincere compliment was not well received, putting an arm in hers. "Shall we?"

After a handful more viewings, Jean guided them back to the wizard section, and Francis gratefully removed his glasses and used a handkerchief to remove the majority of the makeup.

"Your temporary exhibit is near your permanent one in the Renaissance de Magie room, sir," Jean said as they paused so Francis could get comfortable. "Were there any other specific exhibits you wanted to make certain to view this evening?" Jean asked.

"Are there any of my father's paintings out at the moment?" he asked.

"Four, Mr. Pyther…three near yours and one in the dark magic room, of course," he said.

"Dark magic room?" Alicia asked curiously.

"Is it_Silence of the Village_ or_Revenge at the Hamlet?_" Francis asked, peaking Alicia's interest even more.

"Hamlet, sir," Jean said solemnly. "Although I can arrange for you to see the other if you like."

"No, thank you, I rather prefer this one," Francis said quickly.

"Yes, sir, and if you don't mind my saying so, I do as well," Jean smiled, leading the way while Alicia followed up the rear, pausing to gaze at statues in the long hallway. "There is so little movement of paint in that room, since of course the majority of them were done after the evil events that inspired them had taken place, and from second hand accounts. Although I do understand that your father based Silence upon his own sketch seeing it first hand?"

"So he did," Francis said distantly. "It is a very disturbing painting."

"Mr. Pyther, all of the paintings in the Dark Magic room are disturbing, as they were intended to be," Jean pointed out. "The room is on the way if you would like to go there first?"

"I would like to see it," Alicia said, getting distracted by the flash of lightning from a painting of a castle at night, the rain pouring down so hard she could almost feel the dampness in the air.

"I suppose I should warn you the subject of the painting is one of your ancestors," Francis said in a low voice.

"All the more reason then," Alicia said, and Jean nodded to them with a smile, navigating around the crowds with ease. It was as they were approaching an archway that Alicia noticed a strange, yellowish shimmer in front of them. "Is that a magic field?"

"Oh yes…a sound barrier…it is, as many say here, a 'necessary evil' to keep viewers outside of the room from being disturbed," Jean explained, stepping out of the way so they could enter first.

The moment they entered, Alicia understood why, for in every direction in the darkened room came moans, sobs and whimpers of anguish, and Alicia found herself wondering what she had gotten herself into. The terrible sound of shrieks suddenly pierced through the air, and Alicia found herself clutching Francis' arm until it died off.

"That would be my father's painting," he said solemnly.

"I'm not sure I want to see it anymore," Alicia murmured softly so that Jean couldn't here.

"It's only a painting," Francis said gently.

"There's no such thing," Alicia murmured back, but reluctantly allowed him to lead her further in the room. She had only taken a couple of glances at some of the other paintings before fixing her eyes forward to keep herself from seeing the tortured victims that lay in the paths of the dark wizards depicted in the room.

"This is the one, Alicia," Francis said quietly, and reluctantly she looked up to the scene of a small hamlet surrounded by farmland with a lone mound or hill in the distance with a cave on its side. It was a night scene, and an ominous cloud of massive size hung over the town threateningly. It was the ground below it that seemed to be moving, and as Alicia moved closer, she realized that hordes of rats poured out of it in every direction, red eyes flashing in the dim light. Several corpses lay on the ground as well, mostly covered or partially eaten by the rats so vivid that Alicia felt she was going to be sick. "Watch," Francis said, pointing to the far right of the painting. Alicia looked over just in time to see a shadowy cloaked figure running away from the village with a large bag, like a thief in the night.

"Was that the dark wizard?" Alicia asked in a low voice. Francis shook his head.

"Merely a visual symbol that whatever it was that Mallus Craw was looking for was whisked away," Francis explained. "You won't see him in the painting itself, simply his handiwork." Alicia turned to stare at him. "Watch, it's not done yet."

Reluctantly, she turned back around as a soft, melodic tune began to ripple through the air, the mist in the background taking on a darker, sinister look as it stretched towards the town, and Alicia instantly recognized it was representing the music itself, even though it seemed pleasant and hopeful. Just then, new shadows began to emerge from the village, walking down streets and in many cases climbing out of windows. Stepping out of the rats and into the fields, the children of Hamlin poured out at the promise of relief in that voice-like tune…relief from the rats and sickness that had overtaken them and their families. They had soon figured out it was coming from the cave…and those who could, ran, while others walked, some helping younger siblings or those too weak to get their on their own. But not long after the last figure entered the cave, a bright light burst out of the cave accompanied by a loud shrieking sound. Immediately, the shrieks of the children could also be heard, but their heart-wrenching voices soon stopped leaving only the spell itself to carry on until at last both it and the light faded into silence. A group of cloaked figures ran through the darkness then towards the cave with wands in hand, fading into the mist as quickly as they had appeared.

"Brilliant," Jean said behind them, Francis turning slightly in response. "Your pardon, Mr. Pyther, but it truly is one of his best works."

"Yes, and one of his last," Francis agreed with a nod, but his voice sounded a bit strained, especially when he put his hand on Alicia's arm again to find she had gone quite rigid. "The figures at the end represented those who came to stop Mallus, Alicia. Mallus never did leave that cave again alive."

"A bit late, weren't they?" Alicia said, her voice strained as well.

"Yes," Francis said quietly. "Perhaps it's time we moved on to some lighter material."

"Of course, can't blame you, although in small doses, the works in this room are quite impressive," Jean said. "If only more would come in here to see them." Alicia had also noticed they were the only ones in the room, despite the fact that it was busy enough on either side of it.

"Who would want to?" Alicia said, Jean blinking at her in surprise. "In fact, I don't understand who would want to paint such deeds as all of these to begin with."

"To remember our mistakes," Francis said gazing up at them thoughtfully. "And sometimes to find closure, to heal, or perhaps to search for a reason that such madness exists in the first place. You cannot truly appreciate the light until you understand the darkness. I believe I've mentioned that before," he added with a gentle smile. Behind them, Jean nodded in complete support. "I don't suppose _The Family Portrait_ is one of the other paintings, Jean?"

"Indeed it is, sir," Jean said warmly.

"I long to see it after all this time. Ready, Alicia?" Francis asked.

"More than ready," Alicia agreed, hurrying behind Jean towards the arch. But as Alicia moved ahead, Francis caught something familiar out of the corner of this eye and paused in front of a painting entitled,_The Vampire Clan Wars of 1500._ Alicia turned around curiously as he frowned at the painting of two kingly dressed vampires battling upon a hill, while down below three other ornately dressed vampires, one female and two men, waited for the battle to finish before descending on the victor and staking him. His eyes were fixated on the dark-haired man that did the actual staking, knowing the blood red robes the man wore simply symbolized he above the rest of the five had spilt or harvested more blood than any of the others. "Francis?"

"Sorry, coming," Francis said, his voice a bit uneasy as he walked over to join them.

As they left they had to blink a few times after having gotten used to the curious lighting in that room, and Alicia attempted to shake off the strange chill that had overtaken her while they were in there.

With a quick glance at his watch, Francis was a bit less impatient when Alicia stopped to admire some of the paintings, particularly interested in the impressionism room, finding she was more appreciative of works of different styles than hers for she didn't find herself comparing them so much with her own.

As they got into older paintings, Alicia began to pick out more and more artists she recognized from Hogwarts, and found herself growing more impressed at the school's collection, for in many cases, she liked the ones at Hogwarts better. She was moving into the eastern European artists that she wasn't as familiar with when she noticed Jean move ahead of them, standing near an arch in silence. Alicia looked up then to see Francis gazing at her, giving her a soft smile before the two of them went in.

In the center of the octagonal room on the front side of a white triangular display wall was a collection Alicia immediately recognized as Pyther's work, most of them painting in medieval or Veronese style, mostly portraits with the exception of one of peasants working the fields and another of an old ship. But the thing that struck her most was the name plate; Francis Marion Pyther, 1452-1475.

"So what do you think?" Francis asked, curious of the dark look that past her face.

"Very heavy brush strokes," Alicia mused, turning her attention back to the paintings.

"Yes, I agree," Francis said with a nod.

"Actually, it's one of the most distinguishing features of your earlier art, if you don't mind my saying so, sir. Makes it easy to spot counterfeiters," Jean added mischievously.

"If there's any question of that, sir, feel free to come to me," Francis said, Alicia chuckling beside him. "You said my father's were nearby?"

"Right here, sir," Jean said, going to another side of the triangle and Francis went to look.

"Come, Alicia! Come meet my family!" Francis said excitedly, gesturing to her, and

Alicia walked over to him curiously. Of the three paintings, one was of a young boy, one of the painter himself, and the third a family portrait. It was the portrait Francis was entranced with, because it was the only one with his mother in it. A lovely blonde witch in a long, heavy blue samite gown sat in front of a sunny window, where beyond was a view of the sea. Next to her sat a brown haired young boy, shifting from foot to foot and looking around distractedly as if he'd rather be somewhere else. The witch leaned down and murmured to the boy, and the fidgeting stopped momentarily. A tall mirror hung on a wall beside them, providing a glimpse of the painter himself at his easel, a tall man with wild brown hair and soulful hazel eyes.

Alicia glanced at the portrait of the boy, done several years later, the thin, tired smile so very much Francis there couldn't be any doubt it was him, despite the chocolaty hair and the hazel eyes. He was leaning and elbow on what appeared to be a seawall out near a harbor with his hands clasped relaxed, and although a lot less fidgety than the younger version of himself, he would often sigh or get a slightly distracted look on his face before some force…no doubt the painter himself, pulled his attention back to the front. Just below, the painter's portrait seemed to be somewhat later, his eyes more expressive and yet, haunted somehow. He seemed to be giving her a very scrutinizing gaze of his own, frowning at her with such suspicion that Alicia found herself a bit unnerved by it. She also frowned slightly when she read his plate as well; Michael Marion Pyther, 1432-1475.

"Do you suppose we might have a moment?" Francis said, Alicia gazing at him thoughtfully.

"Of course, sir. I'll make sure you're not disturbed," Jean said solemnly, immediately but politely keeping other visitors away from the area. Alicia watched thoughtfully, a bit impressed with the VIP treatment, but Francis simply pulled her closer to get her attention.

"That is my mother, Matilda," Francis said quietly, the woman looking up when she heard her name. "And my father Michael, and me, of course."

"Your hair was much lighter then," Alicia said.

"Oh…yes, it's the vampire thing," Francis said distractedly. "One's hair goes either black or white depending on which clan you're in. Anyhow, this is actually a composite painting. My mother died giving birth to me, but after I was old enough to start asking questions about her, my father painted me in to have a complete family portrait, that's why it's a little off center," he explained. Alicia gazed at him thoughtfully, but he seemed quite distant. "I've heard many students come here to study his expertise in composites, and many think The Family Portrait is his best work, in fact, nobody has figured out how to duplicate the detailed interactions between my younger self and my mother, considering they were painted at two different times. It's also the more active of the three here; too much movement in portraits were considered vulgar in the 1450's, but you can't explain that to a five year old."

"There, you see?" the Michael in the mirror said, frowning at his son. "Stop moving about so, Francis, you are going to ruin the painting."

"I'm tired," young Francis complained. "Aren't we done yet?" Matilda sighed and pulled him up on her lap.

"Matilda, you're just encouraging him, and you're disturbing the lighting," Michael complained.

"I hardly think having him on my lap is disturbing any lighting," Matilda said with exasperation. "Blame the clouds and sky if you like, but I've not the power."

"You do, my love, you just refuse to notice," Michael said gently. "Put the boy down." Reluctantly, Matilda moved her arm and Francis slipped down into the sun again, standing next to her only a moment before becoming fidgety again.

"Matilda?" the real Francis said again quietly, getting her attention once more. "Mother, this is my dear friend, Alicia Snape." Alicia blinked in surprise, staring at Francis a moment before looking at the painting to see the witch smiling at her warmly.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Alicia Snape," she said with a cordial nod, her smile suddenly turning enigmatic. "How dear of a friend, my love?" Francis cleared his throat.

"Might you introduce her to father, please?" Francis asked.

"I may not be able to see you, Francis, but I can hear you plain enough," Michael reminded him, leaning a bit to get a better view of her in the reflection. "It is an honor. You have very lovely eyes," he added before going back to his work.

"Thank you," Alicia said.

"When can we meet her painting?" he asked, not looking up.

"Oh! Um, well, I haven't actually finished one of her…" Francis admitted.

"Don't tell me you've given up your art," Michael said, staring at the mirror.

"No, of course not, it's just…complicated…" Francis said, wondering why Alicia was giving him such a fixed look.

"While you're at it, you might want to inform my other self of her bloodline," the lower painting of Michael said, and Alicia looked at him in surprise. "My younger self may not notice it, but it's as plain as day to me. She's a Craw."

"What was that?" the Michael in the family portrait said, blinking in surprise and staring at Alicia. "Surely she's not, the Craws are all cold-blooded killers."

"Now, Father, that was nearly six centuries ago, the line has changed since then," Francis said.

"Well, you haven't, son," the older Michael said. "And I for one am not sure I approve."

"I didn't bring her here for approval," Francis protested.

"Could have fooled me," Alicia said, making Francis even more uncomfortable.

"I simply wanted her to see who my parents were, especially you, Mother," Francis said, trying to ignore Alicia's gaze. Matilda smiled warmly at him, while attempting to tame the younger Francis' hair with her hand.

"More than I?" the Michael in the mirror frowned.

"I see you in your work, sir, I'm an artist as well," Alicia explained. Francis smiled at her. Michael's frown faded, and he began to mix paint on his palette.

"That at least doesn't surprise me," he said.

"Maiden Alicia, do you suppose you could paint our Francis as he is now so that my husband might see him?" Matilda asked. "Hopefully before we sleep again?"

"He's not missing much," the older Michael said below them.

"Perhaps, if he lets me I will," Alicia said with a smile.

"We should be going," Francis said quickly, glancing over at Jean, who seemed to be watching the next room. Glancing back over to them, Jean nodded with a smile. "I will come visit again before the exhibit closes, Father, Mother."

"Take care, Francis," Matilda said, while the two images of his father simply nodded to him before Francis stepped back a bit, gazing at Alicia searchingly.

"Sorry about that one self-portrait, that one was done after the one we viewed earlier in the Dark Magic room," Francis explained. "In fact, that portrait was one of the last he ever painted, except for a small number of commissions."

"Your pardon, sir," Jean interrupted, and Alicia decided to save her next question for later. "I thought you would like to know that your masterpiece has finished its last cycle and should be ready for a full viewing, if you are interested in catching it from the beginning."

"Most definitely," Francis said, grabbing Alicia by the hand and leading her out, for this one he knew exactly where it was.

The room was set up differently than any they had seen before in the museum, for at the back of the room instead of the typical viewing area was a collection of marble benches surrounding a medium sized painting twice as long as it was high. In the center was an area where people could step up between the stone benches and view it, but as they approached, Alicia couldn't see anything particularly spectacular about it. It was the simple scene of countryside at twilight.

"This is my favorite painting out of all the ones before death," Francis said softly. "What do you think?" he asked. Alicia frowned slightly, knowing he'd want an honest opinion.

"Definitely a problem with heavy brushstrokes again," Alicia commented.

"Yes," Francis agreed.

"And some of it looks a bit rushed," she added.

"Oh, yes, most definitely," Francis agreed again.

"What are you, then, a pair of art critics?" asked a British wizard sitting near the front, giving them a dirty look. His wife looked over curiously, but made no comment. "How about sitting down and quieting up, you'll ruin the viewing."

"Terribly sorry," Francis said quickly, and pulled Alicia towards a bench in the other side, sitting down. Alicia was about to question him again but he put a finger to his lips, his gaze as intent upon the painting as those around him.

Alicia gazed back at it thoughtfully, wondering if this too wasn't an Aurora Borealis…but the landscape seemed wrong, and the coloring was more blue than grey, and the light below the horizon more gold and pink than the reddish, purplish glow she was used to up north. But when she gazed at it long enough, it suddenly struck her that it wasn't an evening twilight at all.

It was twilight before a dawn.

As the sliver of light on the horizon grew, the colors of the sky changed again, the pastels pushing out over the rest of the sky as shadows of clouds appeared above it. Birds softly began to sing…a few at first and then a chorus, as Alicia began to see from the shadows that they were on a hill or a mountain above a thick forest floor where no paths seemed to cross. The sun looked orange and immense as it neared the halfway point above the horizon, the brightness fading the colors of the sky until it reached a solid blue.

From around her, Alicia could hear the occasional whisper or sigh of those around her, and she risked a quick glance around until she gazed up at Francis. The critical, thoughtful expression usually present when he looked at his own work wasn't there at all. Instead, he seemed lost in his own painting, or perhaps lost in memories, the light of the dawn reflecting strangely in his red eyes until he finally closed them a moment. The loss in that expression made Alicia turn away again, gazing at the painting while wrapping her hands around his arm in what seemed almost a vain attempt at comfort. But Francis seemed to notice her then, putting his other hand on one of hers as the sun rose up into the sky.

"So…now, what do you think?" Francis asked, as the people around them started to move.

"It's fantastic," Alicia said sincerely, looking over to see him smiling gently at her.

"A bit rough, as you pointed out before," Francis admitted.

"It doesn't matter," Alicia said fervently. "It's the heart behind it. That's what has everyone so captivated."

"Well, that, and the fact it's the only one I've ever painted and it's impossible to do another," Francis said dryly, getting up. "It is my most valuable painting, though, I'm so glad it's here where everyone can enjoy it."

"Hang on a moment, I knew I seen you from somewhere," the man at the next bench said, his eyes widening in realization. "You're Francis Pyther!" He said it loud enough that everyone in the area heard him and started to murmur in excitement. Several cameras went off, and Alicia rolled her eyes at the futility of trying to take pictures of him. A few wizard guards came out of nowhere to grab the cameras, but Pyther was still seeing spots as the crowd of enthusiastic fans came up to him.

"I thought he was dead, maman," a young girl said in French.

"He is, dear," her mother said gently, making the girl eye him suspiciously.

"Could you sign my map, sir?" the man, asked.

"Look, I have a postcard with your painting on it, too please," a young boy said.

"Please, please!" Jean protested. "Mr. Pyther is here to view the exhibits, not to become one!"

"It's all right, Jean, I really don't mind," Francis protested, signing several papers that had been thrust at him. Alicia merely chuckled and shook her head.

"Then perhaps we should move it to the front, sir, so not to disturb the others…"  
"Probably a good idea, especially since I know it's getting close to your closing time," Francis agreed.

"Thank you, sir," Jean said, escorting them through the museum with a small mob of people walking behind them. Witches and wizards viewing paintings in the halls gazed curiously at the proceeding, some of them joining as they walked to the foyer. There, Jean found them a spot where they wouldn't be crowded in on, while some of those who had followed made a run on the postcards to have something for him to sign.

"I am sorry for the fuss," Francis protested to Jean, who was busy trying to get some sort of organization to the sudden run on the poor artist.

"It is no trouble, monsieur, it is generous of you of you to humor them," Jean said distractedly, while Alicia merely stood back enjoying the scene. One of the boys in line eyed her thoughtfully for a while as he waited in line, handing Pyther both a map and a postcard.

"So who might you be, I was wondering," the boy asked, ignoring the hiss from his mother.

"Alicia Snape," Alicia said with a smile.

"Snape?" The boy repeated, a murmur going through the crowd as well. "Are you related to Severus Snape?" Alicia's smile faded.

"Yes, he's my father," she admitted guardedly.

"Wow! Can I shake your hand?" the boy asked, and did while the rumble in the crowd got even louder. "Mum! Did you see me? I just shook hands with Snape's daughter!" A multitude of camera flashes went off and Alicia rolled her eyes, looking over at Francis who was barely able to contain his laughter.

"Can you sign my map too?" asked the next wizard in line. Francis leaned over when she saw the look on her face.

"It won't hurt you to be nice," he murmured in her ear. Grimacing slightly, she reluctantly got out her own pen, glad after a couple of dozen Jean was shooing any more from joining the line.

"We're much indebted to your father for saving us all from Ciardoth," an elderly witch said with a kind smile, having both a postcard for Francis and a map for her ready when she got there. "The world is a better place with wizards like him around."

"He has his moments," Alicia said briskly, but managed to flash her a wan smile handing it back to her. Francis glanced sideways at her, but then was momentarily distracted by a young girl waving a sunrise postcard at him.

"Tell us, though, we've all heard the stories, what's he really like?" a younger man coaxed her.

"Do you really want to know?" Alicia asked.

"Alicia," Francis chuckled with a warning smile, knowing she was likely to say something she'd regret later, but the man nodded with a grin.

"My father is nothing more than a henpecked old codger who prefers nothing better than terrorizing his students by hanging them by their toes in the dungeons when he's at work, or torturing us at home by tying us up in the living room while he screeches away on his violin in a manner fit to wake the dead," Alicia said, then glancing at the wince on Francis' face. "And sometimes undead."

"Oh!" was all the man said in response, weakly thanking her for the autograph before stepping out of line. A few of the others standing there let out a soft chuckle. Francis simply shook his head, turning his attention back to the matter at hand until the last one was on his way, sighing in relief.

"Why don't you both make yourselves comfortable a moment while I find you a cab," Jean insisted, letting the guards escort the rest out.

"Thank you. You've been a good sport today, Jean," Francis said.

"Not at all, sir. I've escorted many an honored guest through these halls, Mr. Pyther, but you are the only artist of one of our most prized collections I have ever met. After all, without artists like yourself none of us would be here, would we?" he said with amusement before stepping outside.

"Of course you're the only artist he's ever met, you're the only one still around," Alicia murmured dryly. Francis poked her gently in the side.

"Would you behave? You're starting to remind me of your cousin," he chided her, earning a look of complete shock from Alicia. "Especially with that comment about your father."

"Oh…pbft, like he'd hear about it," Alicia said, waving it off.

"That's not the point," Francis said, shaking his head at her but still smiling slightly. "And you shouldn't be cross if no one recognizes your work or name yet."

"I wasn't cross about that!" Alicia said, Francis frowning at her knowingly. "Well, perhaps I was about the illustration thing, and I am annoyed you were upstaged on the basis of my relation…"

"I don't mind, Alicia," Francis said with a gentle smile. "He's earned his fame and more as many times as he's put his life on the line, I'm only a painter, after all..."

"You're much more than that, Francis," Alicia protested, still sounding a bit angry. "At least you are to me." Francis gazed at her, debating how to respond, when Jean came back in.

"Come on, let's head back to the _La Sorcière Pâle_, then perhaps head to the Ninety or something for a bit," Francis suggested.

"What? Why don't we just get something at the café here?" Alicia protested as they got up, thanking Jean once more before walking outside. "After all, it's the least we can do after using their painting." Francis chuckled at that.

"Very well, Alicia, I suppose one drink won't hurt," he said, opening the door for her.

"Good, because after what we just went through, I think I need to unwind," Alicia admitted, settling into her seat with Francis right after her.

"Did you enjoy it, though?" he asked, shutting the door and watching as they pulled away, admiring the lights.

"Absolutely, I'm so glad you brought me here," Alicia said fervently.

"Yes, I am too," Francis smiled. "What did you like the best?"

"Hm, I'm not sure," she said, thinking about it a moment. "I think…I think I rather liked your father's painting of your family," she said at last, hoping he wouldn't be offended for not saying the sunrise.

"Yes, I rather like that one the best too," Francis admitted with a smile, and then gazed out at the lights of the city.


	24. Courtesy of a Vampire

_Short and not-so-sweet chapter, but seemed to work better as a stand alone; though I may add it to the Louvre in the final copy since the latter chapters in this book get huge...we'll see. Hope you like it, either way, you may find it a bit revealing...or at least intriguing. JC Writer _

Twenty-Four

Courtesy of a Vampire

It was going on eleven when they got back to the café, and even though many of the outside tables had cleared because of the frigid night air, inside _La Sorcière Pâle_ it was bustling. Fortunately, there were a number of tables far in the back and away from the fire still left to be taken, and the two of them grinned knowingly.

"I don't know about you, but I'm roasting," Alicia said mischievously, picking one out that had a drippy candle in the center, lighting it.

"There are some benefits to being used to our climate," Francis agreed. "Sure you wouldn't rather sit outside?"

"This is fine," Alicia assured him, wiping off the table with a quick spell. "Reminds me of the Pannage…but with a lot more style," she added with a grin.

"Of course, it's Paris," Francis said, and the two of them had a good chuckle at that, as a waiter came up, gazing in between them thoughtfully.

"Good evening, what can I serve for you?" the waiter asked in thickly accented English.

"Whatever your house wine is works for me," Alicia said.

"And for monsieur?" he asked.

"What do you have in blood wines?" Francis asked. The waiter paled so dramatically that they both noticed it in the poor light, while the waiter stared at Francis for a moment, noting his appearance before forcing a smile on his face.

"I am sorry monsieur, but all the blood wines of this establishment are the property of Marquis Foncé, and I cannot serve that without his express permission," the waiter said, Francis suddenly sitting up straighter, his smile suddenly turning strained.

"Of course, I would never go against the wishes of one of my brothers. Whatever you're permitted to give me would be fine," Francis said quietly.

"Ah!" the waiter said brightly, taking something out of his pocket and handing it to Francis. Francis stared at the blood lollipop for a moment before taking it. "Free of charge, monsieur."

"Thank you," Francis said as the waiter walked away.

"I'm so sorry. Maybe we should just head to the Ninety," Alicia said sympathetically.

"It isn't your fault, Alicia, we'll leave after you've had your drink," Francis said quietly, playing with the wrapper. "Vampires tend to be very territorial outside of the pack, that's how we survive, really. It takes a rather extensive area for one active vampire to operate safely without having a mob on one's hands."

"Are you sure this Marquis isn't anywhere near here?" Alicia asked with a frown.

"No, I would have known it before we even stepped out of the carriage. I would have been able to sense him," Francis explained quietly. "Foncé is in the same clan that I am, so he couldn't do much to me directly. I'd be more worried about you being here." Alicia sighed at him.

"Honestly, Francis. I'm a Snape," Alicia said.

"Yes, that's part of the problem," Francis said distantly, ignoring the look Alicia gave him and looked at the approaching waiter instead, who sat down Alicia's glass.

"Will there be anything else for you, mademoiselle? Fromage? Bouillabaise?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Alicia said.

"Honestly, Alicia, please don't hesitate on my account," Francis protested.

"I'm fine, really, Francis, I'm still full from the Snow Crab earlier," Alicia said.

"Let me know if you change your mind," the waiter said, nodding politely to her before walking away.

"I'd almost forgotten you had already been out earlier today," Francis admitted, licking on the sucker unconcernedly. "Although I did rather steal you away, didn't I, considering Jacob just got back."

"I was ready to get away from all that weather research anyhow," Alicia admitted, "Although I am glad I took a passing interest in gathering magic readings when Father was working on his Flux Effect stuff, or I probably would have had a harder time with it. Boy, am I going to be glad to get out of there in two weeks."

"Getting homesick?" Francis asked quietly.

"No, it's not that," Alicia said, playing with her glass a moment before sighing. "You see, when we went out today, Jacob asked me if we were seriously dating, and if not, asked if he could see me casually."

"Ah," Francis said, completely unsurprised. "I can see how that might be awkward right now, being roommates. You could always move back early, I'm sure your sister wouldn't mind." Alicia stared at him. "Or is that not what you meant?"

"Yes…no…hang on. Is that all you're going to say about it?" Alicia asked, growing increasingly annoyed that he seemed more interested in his sucker than the subject at hand.

"Well, I suppose I won't know until I see where this conversation is going," Francis said calmly.

"I was trying to get your opinion," Alicia said.

"Oh, I see," Francis said, looking at his sucker. "Then yes, I think you should definitely move out first."

"Not about that!" Alicia said with exasperation. "I meant about seeing him casually in the first place."

"Well, that would be entirely up to you, wouldn't it?" Francis said bluntly, Alicia staring at him in response. "As you already pointed out earlier, he no longer has any ties to your cousin, you've known him professionally long enough to know whether or not you're compatible, and there are a lot of advantages he can offer you that I can't."

"Like what?" Alicia said, feeling angrier than ever. She had felt so close to him that evening, like they had actually made a connection for the first time since they met again. Why did he have to go and act like this now?

"Going wherever and whenever you like comes to mind," Francis said, looking up from his sucker for a moment. "Alicia, we've had a very nice evening, but that's all it'd ever be. If you had gone with Jacob, you could have gotten there the moment the museum opened and stayed there as long as you liked without any thought of the time."

"He couldn't have shown me the Louvre they way you did," Alicia said sincerely.

"Perhaps not, but he also wouldn't have had to take you to a museum to watch a sunrise together," Francis said quietly.

"Francis," Alicia said in pure exasperation again, taking his hand. "Can't you see it's you I want to be with?"

"For now," Francis said, rubbing her hand gently but shaking his head. "But I don't think forever. It'd be foolish for you not to consider other options."

"How can you say that? You don't care about me at all anymore do you…"

"If I didn't, we wouldn't be in this predicament," Francis murmured.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Alicia said, obviously upset. Francis sighed.

"Finish your drink, Alicia, I think it's time we got back," he said at last, glancing up at the clock just as it began to strike twelve.

It was at that moment a tingle went up his spine and he sat up, wondering if he imagined it. But with every strike of the clock, it seemed to grow stronger, and by the sixth there could be no denying that another vampire was quickly approaching them.

"Alicia…" Francis said, his voice shaking so noticeably that she looked up from her glass with a puzzled look on her face. "Dear God, he's coming!"

"Who?" Alicia said, surprised and alarmed when he suddenly grabbed both her hands to get her attention.

"Listen to me. It's very important you stay perfectly silent, no matter what Foncé says or I say, promise me if you care for me at all that you won't say a word!" Francis said, a look of sheer terror in his eyes.

"All right," Alicia said after a moment but pulled her hands away long enough to pull her cloak back over her shoulders and making sure her wand was accessible before picking up her drink again.

She felt him before she saw him, for her back was to the door. A crawling sensation went over her skin, and the air was unusually frigid, the hairs on her neck standing up. Francis attempted with some difficulty to try and keep a calm composure, pretending to fuss with his sucker despite the fact there wasn't much left of it.

The entire room had grown subdued with the last strike of midnight, and many eyes were on the tall, pallid figure striding past the tables, intent in finding who had dared trespass in his territory. He was tall and menacing, dressed in black robes and a heavy cloak with ornate red embroidery on the cuffs, each stitch representing a past victim. The man's face was still masked in the shadows of the café, but his red eyes flashed as he tilted his head to one side, finally recognizing the intruder. He relaxed slightly and shook his head almost imperceptibly before gliding soundlessly over to their table. He had a firm jaw and not an entirely unhandsome face, but his eyes and expression was lined with cruelty in a way Alicia hadn't recalled seeing since Ciardoth had died. That realization was enough to get her wondering just how much danger they were really in. But the vampire didn't look at her past a questioning glance, turning his attention to Francis.

"Why, Brother Francis, I don't believe I've seen you since you were a virgin," he said with a sneer. "Although one plucked rose is hardly a garden. Is this a Toy or a Morsel with you?" he asked in an almost polite tone.

"She is a Snape, Brother Wingard," Francis answered carefully.

"Uck…definitely not a Morsel then," Foncé said with a look of complete disgust, snapping for the waiter. "Snape blood is so foul I could barely keep it in my stomach. How you manage to get a decent meal up there with so many disgusting bloodlines abroad I have no idea…oh, that's right…you're the _charity_ case, aren't you?"

"I have less chance of being staked or fried if it's given freely," Francis pointed out. Foncé looked slightly amused at that, stepping behind Alicia's chair a moment.

"Perhaps, but there is more than one way to get a free meal, Brother Francis," he said with an unpleasant smile, but then raised his hand to the waiter who had come up. "Serve by brother clansman, Simon, he is no threat to me."

"At once, my lord," the waiter said, quickly scampering off.

"Thank you, Brother Wingard," Francis said, nodding solemnly, Foncé nodding in return.

"Still the artist, Brother Pyther?" he asked with some obvious reservations about the profession.

"Of course," Francis said with a nod.

"Well, I'll let the Reverent know you are doing well, then. I'm sure he'll be interested to know that you've resurfaced," Foncé said with a smile, but Alicia noticed that Francis looked even paler than he had before. "Perhaps he'll even have something amusing for you to paint," he added before walking to the bar to get a drink of his own. The waiter put down Francis' drink and filled Alicia's back to the rim before hurrying to take care of Foncé.

"Are you going to tell me what the Hell all that was about now?" Alicia whispered fervently. Francis grabbed her hand under the table only to find she had her wand in it.

"Not yet," Francis whispered back, picking up the glass. "I'm going to drink this as quickly as I dare so not to insult Foncé, then we'll get out of here and talk."

"Good, because you have a lot of explaining to do, especially that bit about Snape blood and what the heck that virgin bit was about…" she hissed, then took a sip to try and calm herself down.

"Well, it isn't what you're thinking," Francis whispered back defensively. "I haven't been with a woman in that way since I was alive, there are…complications later." Alicia blinked at him in stunned surprise. "He was talking about biting into something other than a sheepskin sack, if you must know, and I only did it to save a woman's life."

"Who?" Alicia demanded, and Francis hushed her.

"This isn't the place and it isn't the time," Francis hissed. "Alicia, we're in a great deal of danger at the moment, just let me finish this and get you home than you can yell at me all you like."

"Oh, you can count on that," Alicia said, still seething as she sipped her drink again, waiting for him to impatiently finish his. She felt her head go fuzzy, and she frowned at her drink, wondering if she had drank more than she had planned on and perhaps she ought to get something to eat after all. She glanced up at Francis to say something about it when she realized she couldn't focus on him either. She blinked, and then looked at her glass. "I'm such an idiot," Alicia murmured just before she passed out, tumbling to the floor.

"Alicia!" Francis cried out in complete surprise, immediately diving down to her and cradling her fallen form, glancing up at the bar to see Foncé tipping his glass to him with a smile. Realizing what had happened, Francis carefully picked her up in his arms, trying to reach her cloak pocket for her key.

"Stop what you are doing!" a powerful voice shouted, and Francis looked up in complete surprise to see a huge man standing in front of him with an angry look on his face and a wand pointed at Francis' head. Foncé suddenly decided to move to a more shadowed corner, but watched with interest from the other side of the bar. "Put her down at once!"

"H…Halbert?" Francis stammered, the half-giants fierce gaze never wavering. "It's me, Francis Pyther…"

"I know who you are, just as surely as I know that the Professor forbade you to be anywhere near his daughter! And in the absence of him or Andrew, I ask you to put her down immediately before I forget I once liked you and give you a sunburn you will not recover from!" he snarled.

"I just want to get her home, Halbert," Francis said quietly.

"I will get her home myself," Halbert insisted, taking the girl out of his arms while still trying to juggle his wand. His face then went blank. "Where does she live again?"

"Try the key in her Chest Cloak pocket," Francis suggested.

"Oh," said Halbert, shuffling awkwardly around to try to reach it. Francis carefully took the key out and handed it to him, careful not to activate it. "Yes…well…and don't bother her again!" he said flustered, touching the handle to her hand, the two of them disappearing. Sighing, Pyther put some coins on the table and donned his cloak, using his own key home.

Alicia awoke with a splitting headache, barely wanting to open her eyes to the blinding white walls. She closed them again, wincing, and pulled the soft thick layers of blankets around her shoulders, deciding it would be best just to sleep it off. It was then she heard low voices, and wondered half-asleep whom Jacob would be talking to. Pyther, probably, she decided, though the voice seemed much too low to be his. But as she started thinking about Pyther, she realized something was wrong…and as the memories of the night before flooded in she sat up in her bed with a start. Her head caved in, and she fell quickly back onto her pillow.

"Alicia?" Jacob said, and Alicia waved him off to indicate he was talking way too loud.

"It's alright, the potion should be ready by now," a very familiar voice. Even with her world spinning and her eyes closed she knew she should recognize that deep voice and French accent, but it wasn't until after a vile steaming liquid was put to her lips and she had a couple of sips that her head finally began to clear enough to remember it.

"Halbert?" Alicia said unsurely, trying to open her eyes and focus in on him. "What are you doing here?"

"Rescuing you and Mr. Pyther," Halbert said calmly. "Drink a bit more, Alicia, it will act as an antitoxin to the cursed wine you drank."

"Cursed wine?" Alicia repeated, taking another sip before sitting up, clearly seeing she was in her own bed at the research center now and Halbert sat in front of her, Jacob standing right behind them, watching.

"The Marquis Foncé is famous for his wines, at least in dark wizard corners," Halbert explained. "Mostly for his blood wines, of course…one of his rarer labels is said to be made of real human blood too, 'tho nobody's been able to pin him on illegal activity for it yet," he said in a low voice. "But he also makes some designer dark wines as well, mostly laced with ways to arouse, subdue, or otherwise incapacitate a potential victim to… well, make them easier targets. If I'm not mistaken, the Marquis was trying to pay Mr. Pyther a courtesy by um…well, making it easier for him to…is there any coffee?" he asked out of the blue.

"I'll start some," Jacob offered, smiling warmly at Alicia before heading over to the kitchen area.

"Francis Pyther wouldn't hurt a living soul, Halbert," Alicia said firmly. Halbert looked back over at her in surprise.

"I know that, Alicia," he said quietly. "That is why I had to get you both out of there when I did. If Pyther had taken you home and nothing had come of Foncé's 'courtesy', it would have put him at odds with his clan; and as he may have told you already, he is in the most dangerous clan of our time."

"He didn't tell me," Alicia said irritably. "In fact, he hasn't mentioned anything about being in any sort of clan."

"Oh, well…I'll let him handle that then," Halbert said quickly, getting up with a wan smile and walking to the kitchen to clean up the potion. Alicia furrowed her brows, too angry to say much as she thought over the strange conversation between Francis and the Marquis. No doubt about it, he had a great deal of explaining to do.


	25. Senses and Sensibilities

_A/N Second Chapter in a couple of days; if you don't know who Fonce is, look for Courtesy With a Vampire (follow up to the Louvre chapter.) JCWriter_

Twenty-Five

Senses and Sensibilities

It wasn't until the next morning that Lucky found out that more paintings had been lost overnight. She was just tossing her books together and wandered out of her dorm on the way to breakfast when she noticed several students standing at the door, looking at it suspiciously, for the painting of the Fat Lady was gone. In fact, there was no painting on the wooden door at all.

Instead, there was a nose.

Lucky blinked, warily coming closer to where the large wooden nose was protruding out from the center of the door, sniffing at every student that came too close to it.

"What the Hell is that?" she asked them.

"It's disturbing, that's what it is," Reggie Weasley said.

"The Fat Lady went to fog just after curfew last night," Tim said grimly.

"Didn't Hufflepuff lose theirs yesterday too?" Lucky frowned. In fact, Pomona Sprout had come in at dinner to escort the students upstairs that night, and she still hadn't gotten a chance to speak to Ambrose about what had happened that afternoon.

"Yeah, I think that's why Snape doesn't want any more paintings for door guards," Tim nodded. "So Craw and Andrew put these Sensors up last night. It won't let anyone pass unless they're staff or smell like a Gryffindor."

"I didn't even know Gryffindors had a smell," Connie said warily.

"They do if you're a charmed door, I suppose," Tim shrugged. "Still, I suppose we'll make the best of it. Anyone for breakfast?" Lucky followed the Weasleys out, just as reluctant to pass the door as they were; especially when it was obvious the door was sniffing her personally.

"I liked the stupid passwords better," Lucky decided, the others grinning at her in complete agreement as they headed down the stairs. "So how many paintings got taken out this time?" she asked, glancing at the walls on their way down the stairs, trying to see if she noticed any missing.

"I didn't hear, but I'm guessing a fair few," Tim said. "I only found out about the Fat Lady coming back from my last patrol before bed count. Professor Andrew and Craw were already inspecting the door when I got there."

"I wonder why they didn't just do statues, like they did on the Ravenclaw door?" Connie asked.

"I got the impression that Professor Craw wasn't keen on them," Tim said in a low voice. "I heard a rumor once that she actually got in a fight with the Rowena statue over one of the riddles and she hasn't trusted them since, short of the Headmaster's gargoyle."

Lucky couldn't help but grin slightly as she imagined Jennifer taking out one of her tempers on the poor statue. As they got to the Hall, Ambrose suddenly jumped up from the table and ran over to her.

"Hiya Lucky! So what does your door do?" he asked.

"What do you mean, Bill?" Lucky frowned.

"Well, I heard Slytherin has a giant ear on its door…and our door has a hand sticking out of it!"

"A hand?" Connie said, not sure she liked that idea. "Does that mean you have to feel like a Hufflepuff?" Reggie and Tim sniggered.

"Yeah we have to shake hands to enter," Ambrose said. "You?"

"We have a giant nose," Lucky said. Ambrose's expression matched that of Connie's a moment before and he shuddered.

"That's got to be the worst yet! I gotta find out what Ravenclaw's does," he said excitedly, rushing off to talk to Laura. Lucky slowly took her place, glancing over now and then at Ambrose until he looked up at her and pointed at his eye.

"Well, an eye makes more sense than a nose does," Lucky said as she sat down, but Reggie sniggered again. "What?"

"They both make sense to me," he said, and Lucky blinked then realized the pun, rolling her eyes.

"I for one certainly don't want to spend the rest of the year having a door smelling us…" Connie scowled.

"I think I have more sympathy for the door," Reggie put in.

"Maybe you should shower more often then," Tim suggested, Reggie making a face at him in response.

"Personally, I'll be glad when they figure out what's happening to the paintings and we get the Fat Lady back," Connie said, looking worried. "Gosh, I wonder what other paintings were infected?"

"I didn't notice any missing in the stairwell, but I haven't been keeping count," Lucky admitted. "Maybe I'll start, though."

Connie sighed and glanced over at Ravenclaw to see Pimra looking over at her, and somehow, Connie knew she was thinking of the same thing. Mimicking Lucky by piling some of her food on her toast, Connie took a couple of bites before getting up, Pimra doing the same

"Where are you going? Aren't you going to eat more than that?" Tim asked with concern.

"I need to check on something," Connie said, Lucky frowning in response as she watched the two girls head out of the room. Wondering what they were up to, Lucky did her own fair share of shoveling before heading off after them to see what they were up to.

She quickly caught up with them on the main stairs, but they only went up a level after that and Lucky sighed, wondering why she had been so suspicious. Obviously they were just trying to get to class early…probably to finish some last minute homework, she mused, suddenly wondering if how far she had gotten on her Defense homework herself. Deciding to follow their lead and head to her class early, Lucky flipped through her book as she stepped off the landing and walked into the corridor when she heard voices. Curiously she looked up, blinking when she saw Connie and Pimra standing in the Trophy Room, just as she had seen Dale do a few days before.

"What are you doin' in there?" Lucky asked curiously, the two of them nearly jumping sky high in surprise.

"Oh…well, we're…" Pimra looked nervously towards Connie.

"We're checking to make sure the paintings are all right in here, what else?" Connie said.

"Okay," Lucky said, not quite sure she believed them or not. "You comin' to Defense, or what?"

"Sure, Lucky, in a minute," Connie said. Shrugging, Lucky headed down the hall, feeling like she was missing something. Glancing at Pimra for a moment, Connie turned back to the paintings. "You know, this has really gotten to be dangerous since they closed off those back stairs. I keep getting the feeling someone is going to catch us in here that's going to ask us questions we don't want to answer."

"All the same, maybe we should tell the rest of the Fifth House about it," Pimra said.

"I'd rather you held off on that for just a little while longer, girls," the portrait of Caprica said. "Pimra is right, we need to find a safer place to chat, and I'm afraid the way I used to contact students back in the old days is no longer an option." Just then, the two girls heard hurried steps and looked around with a start to see Dale standing there, stopping short when he saw them. The girls stared at him for a moment until finally he sighed in resignation. They had been having too many bump-ins to deny it now…he stepped in long enough to see Corey and his gang waving back at him. "What's up, Dale?" Dale turned to look up at her.

"I was worried about the reports that the dust might carry the infection. I don't suppose they've been taking any samples in here?" he asked, the two girls gazing at him speculatively.

"No, they wouldn't risk that, Dale. The Headmaster suspects I come down here from time to time, so you shouldn't have to worry about that…right now, I'd rather you three keep low until this latest wave blows over. Something happened last night that has the Headmaster up in arms…oh wait, here he comes, it'll have to wait," she said, fading out of view.

"Brilliant, I love it when she starts to tell us something and just disappears like that," Connie muttered.

"Tell me about it," Dale said with a sigh. "Well, maybe Janus knows something about what's going on. I'm glad it's almost the weekend, trying to do this during the week with everything going on right now is insane."

"You can say that again," Connie agreed, Pimra nodding quietly. "So just how long have you been sucked into this thing?"

"Long enough, apparently," Dale said, and was about ready to say something else when suddenly Caprica's painting appeared again.

"Kids, you need to clear out of there and fast!" Caprica said, the three looking up in surprise. "Hurry, the Headmaster is on his way down, no time for delay, he's taking a short route!" Dale grabbed Pimra by the arm and hurried out, Connie running along side them before suddenly ducking in the gym, beckoning the others to do the same as they heard the stairs grinding to a stop. Severus swept down the stairs with a look of pure irritation on his face and Jennifer right on his heels.

"I don't know what Pyther was thinking, adding him in like that! After six centuries, you'd think he'd have more sense," Severus said in annoyance as he entered the Trophy Room with Jennifer following after. Nodding to the others, Dale headed back out, the three of them taking the first corridor leading towards the main classroom.

"I don't see him, Severus," Jennifer said, studying the card game. The portrait of Corey waved at her with a smile.

"That doesn't necessarily mean he isn't there. Corey, where is Merlin at?" Severus asked, the boy shrugging.

"I don't know, Dad, we haven't seen him. He left right after you told us all to stay put saying he'd do more good out of the painting than in it and hasn't come back since," Corey said.

"In other words, he left to meddle," Severus scowled. "Well, I want him found. I don't care if it is technically 'just' a painting of him, I expect him to follow the same code of non-interference his actual self supposedly follows."

"And doesn't," Corey smirked.

"Thank you, but I don't need your input. Jennifer, we need to contain this painting as well," Severus said.

"Severus, are you sure that's wise?" Jennifer frowned, Severus looking over at her quizzically. "I mean, I don't know what sort of effect the Paradox painting might have on an incomplete picture. We might be either be cutting the Merlin portrait off from his original painting or dragging him in, and who knows where he's been or what he might have been exposed to?"

"I don't know either, all I know is we need to secure that rogue painting as soon as possible, especially considering who it is. That's the last thing I need right now," Severus brooded.

"I'm sure Pyther will have some ideas on how to restore it when he gets in, Severus…"  
"Restore it? I think I'm more tempted to have it destroyed…"

"No!" shouted everyone in the painting at once in pure horror. Suddenly a figure burst through the painting, and the two of them stepped back in surprise as Icarus appeared with a terrified expression of his own.

"DON'T DO IT!" he screamed. "You can't do it! If you do, they'll be lost to you forever, Severus!"

"They? Who's they?" Severus demanded, but Icarus began to weep. Severus rolled his eyes and let out a noise filled with such frustration that Jennifer decided to take a few steps away from him. "How do I keep getting myself into these damned positions in the first place! Which Hell did I enter that forces me to have to even deal with manic depressive ghosts, rogue paintings, an under-aged wizard with the power to blow craters in the school? Not to mention a school board designed purely to torment me with baseless allegations and insane expectations when they should be helping me do something about the hole in this castle…that they helped create with their idiotic recommendations based on nothing if not pure spite. Why is it that all these countless years of doing nothing except keeping this damned school from disappearing off the face of the planet from one threat or another are completely meaningless and earn nothing but distain and criticism? Perhaps I did die that day after all, and this is the way they've found to punish me for my early years. In some ways, that seems better than the alternative of living all these years and having nothing to show for it!"

As Severus stormed off, Jennifer merely closed her eyes for a moment and leaned against the wall, attempting to shut out the look in his face before he left the room. She tried to gather her own thoughts as the room grew quiet; Icarus looking even more somber than before as he faded away.

"Mom?"

Jennifer sighed and opened her eyes, glancing at the card game and at the worried expressions coming from Corey, Essie and all their companions.

"You all right?" Corey asked once he saw he had gotten her attention.

"It's just stress talking, he doesn't mean it," Jennifer said quietly, standing up again. "But I should be getting ready for class. Just do me a favor? If Merlin returns, try to keep him there?"

"Easier said than done, but I'll try," Corey promised. Jennifer nodded and gave him a wan smile before slipping out of the room, unaware that all the paintings in the Trophy Room watched her leave with deep concern.

Jennifer had more than her fill of the Trophy Room from her experience that morning, but knew it was inevitable that she return to it once Pyther arrived. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't realize anything was troubling him, even missing the fact that he was going out of his way to keep her from getting a good look at him. After a quick dusting, Pyther took the painting of the card game down; putting it on an easel in the old art room and began to clean it, hoping to draw Merlin back into the painting in the process. Jennifer looked on for a few minutes until it began to get tedious, but she found she wasn't really ready to head upstairs yet, either. She wandered out and over to her office for a moment, bringing back a stack of papers for next week. She settled down at her desk in the classroom, using the time to get a jump on the paperwork and free herself from worrying about it before the Hogsmeade trip. Neither one of them spoke, both absorbed in their work in their own thoughts. Jennifer didn't even remember quite when she began to nod off.

It was Carnegie's blaring horn that forced her awake, causing her to lift her head off her desk with a gasp of surprise, and found herself staring into an elaborate bouquet of alchemist's roses. She heard a thud in the room and looked over to see Francis had fallen off his stool.

"Oh, are you all right?" Jennifer said, managing to get up to try and pull him up. "I'm so sorry! That damn horn!"

"No, it's all right…that's what I get for dozing off," Francis protested, getting up. "I'm very grateful it's there with the way I've been running myself into the ground lately, it's loud even behind the doors of the Containment Room. To be frank, it's probably saved my life a time or two," he admitted, Jennifer blinking at him in sudden realization that perhaps that was what Severus had in mind all along. "Speaking of which, I had better get out of here before it gets any later," he added, glancing over his work with a sigh. "No Merlin. I wonder where he is?" he murmured more to himself than to her as she gazed in the painting a moment before he picked up his things. But Jennifer's mind was elsewhere as she wandered over to straighten her desk, glancing every now and then at the roses thoughtfully as she did so. Once Pyther took his leave, Jennifer gathered up the bouquet and made sure one of the ghosts was watching the room before slipping up the stairs to her sitting room.

She took only a moment to freshen up before heading to his own sitting room to find it unoccupied. Picking up the roses again as she went to the Study door and opened it. But then she blinked in surprise when she realized he already had a visitor, gazing at Andrew curiously where he stood by the desk. He immediately looked up when she opened the door.

"Come in, Jennifer," Severus said without looking around. Jennifer quickly discarded the flowers on a side table by the door before walking the rest of the way in. "Tell me, did Pyther mention that anything unusual might have happened on his day off?"

"Um…no, not really," Jennifer said even more intrigued as she walked over to the desk, wondering from Andrew's face what Halbert had to do with it. "Except for a brief discussion as to how we might trap Merlin back in his painting again, neither one of us was in the mood to talk much."

"Trap him?" Andrew said in disbelief. "Good luck with that."

"No luck then, I take it," Severus said, but sounded unsurprised.

"No, although he did say it was unusual for elements of a painting not to appear at some point during a cleaning, especially one by the original artist," Jennifer said.

"Yes well, if he hadn't put him in there in the first place we wouldn't be in that predicament," Severus said irritably, "but at the moment I'm a bit more concerned about what Pyther's been doing on a personal nature. It appears that he and Alicia decided to visit Paris and had a run-in with Marquis Foncé."

"What?" Jennifer said, instantly alarmed. "Where's Alicia, is she alright?"

"Jennifer, do you really think Pyther would have come last night if she wasn't?" Severus said tersely.

"It was at the Pâle, Mum," Andrew interrupted quickly, sensing his father's tension and seeing his mother's reaction to it. "They were hardly alone with him at any time, and Halbert happened to be in the area and stepped in before things got too far out of control…" he said, trailing off when he noticed how she was looking at him, her face whitening by the second as she gleaned out the details. "Anyhow, Halbert took her back to the research center, no worse for the wear for the incident."

"More's the pity," Severus said broodingly, the two of them glancing at him in surprise.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jennifer asked him, biting back anger.

"It means it would have been a lot better off for everyone concerned if Alicia had been more shaken up by the incident. The fact that Pyther showed up at all after something like that sends me chills that neither one of them are taking the event as seriously as they should be," Severus snapped. "It would be foolish not to believe this is the only encounter he's going to have with his clan now that they have some idea where he is, and it doesn't help that he's living outside the boundaries of his territory. It's very likely we may see some trouble in Hogsmeade as well.

"What?" Jennifer said with even more alarm. "Wait, how are you so sure they know where he is?"

"It made the paper," Severus said with extreme irritation, handing her yesterday's copy of La Mystique, folding it over to the special interests column that translated to: Famous Vampire Painter Visits the Louvre. Jennifer groaned loudly at the photo of Alicia standing at the right side of the photo, every now and again looking over at the blank space as they signed autographs, noting the mention of both Polaris Town and Stanley as his current studios in the article. Grimacing she handed it back only to have Severus hand her a copy of the Oracle folded to the gossip column with the headline Famous Daughter Seen with Vampire Lover in Paris. Jennifer cringed, handing him back the paper.

"No more, I've seen enough," Jennifer said, wishing she hadn't witnessed it at all.

"You sure? I find the quote in here by Alicia rather fascinating," Severus said. "But I am not henpecked." Andrew looked amused, but quickly hid it when his father's eyes flicked over to him again. "The only good news in this perhaps is that I have already begun to put certain safety nets into place in case things get as out of hand as I believe they will, considering which clan we're dealing with, but we must be very careful with how this is handled. I don't want the ramifications of this coming down on the school. It will be bad enough if it spreads next door. Professor Craw, since you're in charge of the Hogsmeade trip today, I want you to make sure you touch base with Rosmerta, Brogan, Corey, and Honeydukes on the subject. Just make sure they're aware of it and to contact us if there's any trouble."

"Yes, Professor," Jennifer said with a nod.

"As for the family response in this, Andrew, I want you to get with Aurelius, make sure he knows the situation has escalated and maintain daily contact in case he needs anything, and also you should get Alex up to date as well. Alicia may not be taking this seriously, but as far as I'm concerned this family is on high alert. I have no intention of letting that clan touch any one of us ever again."

"It's the same clan, then, that you've dealt with before," Andrew asked cautiously, "Isn't it, Father?"

Severus gazed at him steadily.

"Was there any doubt of that?" he asked in reply.


	26. Albus Returns

_A/N And one more for those of us with a day off. Enjoy! JCWriter_

Twenty-Six

Albus Returns

Jennifer quickly put herself together, forcing herself into a hot bath to alleviate the kinks from falling asleep at her desk before throwing on some fresh Ravenclaw robes and tossing her hair up into a tail, not even bothering to braid it, buttoning her sleeves and throwing on her cloak so she could beat the crowds to Hogsmeade, stopping first at Corey's knowing he was open the earliest. Honeydukes was next, stepping in just as they were opening up, then back Cynn Brogan's cottage behind the Pig's Pannage. By that time she was more than ready to step into the Three Brooms to see Rosmerta and to grab a table for the staff. Glancing around the bar as she stepped in, Jennifer frowned when she didn't see her right away, pulling down her hood before stepping over to the bar.

"Lydia, could you tell Rosmerta I'm here and I need to speak with her about something important?" Jennifer said. "It's a security matter."

"Sure, just a second," the waitress said with a smile, heading to the back. Jennifer sighed and checked the time before wandering over to a table. But before she could get comfortable, the girl returned. "Rosmerta said to come on back. Don't worry, I'll make sure the students leave you a table," Lydia said, quickly turning away from Jennifer's curious gaze. Furrowing her brows suspiciously, Jennifer got up, wondering what the innkeeper was up to as she entered the back parlor to see her making tea.

"Good morning, Jennifer. If you're here about that vampire clan business, I've already been informed of it, you know," she said, not bothering to turn around as she finished preparing the tea. "Not that I think you've any reason to worry about it. The town isn't likely to put up with that sort, other than Mr. Pyther."

"We weren't worried, we're simply attempting to keep everyone informed, although I wonder how you know about it already," Jennifer said irritably. Rosmerta chuckled at that.

"If you want me to be the first to know something, Jennifer, you'll have to try coming to me first. Rose and both the Honeydukes have been in here before you already this morning," she said, putting the tray on the table before finally getting a good look at her. "Is this a working trip for you, Jennifer?" she asked curiously, and Jennifer frowned, and then realized she was talking about the robes.

"Oh…well mostly, yes, that and I really didn't feel like dressing up, to be perfectly honest. Anyhow, since you know already, I should probably go check on the bus and things," Jennifer decided, Rosmerta putting her hands on her hips in response.

"And here I thought you left me until last so you could relax for awhile, but now all the sudden you want to rush off!" Rosmerta protested. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you didn't want my company."

"It's not that, Rosmerta, as much as it is that I'm just not good company right now," Jennifer said apologetically.

"Jennifer Craw Snape? Not good company? My, that does sound serious," said a gentle voice so startling to hear that Jennifer blinked, wondering if she imagined it. Rosmerta turned to look at the wizard standing in a doorway behind them, nodding curtly to him.

"Just as I was thinking myself, Albus," Rosmerta agreed.

Jennifer turned to him then, feeling a sudden wave of emotions running through her as she met his thoughtful gaze, holding it only a moment before hurried over to him and gave Albus Dumbledore a warm hug, a smile quickly replacing his look of concern.

"I can't believe it, I can't believe you're here!" Jennifer said with tears in her eyes.

"I did promise to visit now and again, did I not?" Albus reminded her. "Now, I'm sure you wouldn't insult my sister by leaving without at least a cup of her fine tea, so why don't you just relax for a moment? It's still quite early…much too early for them to have gotten into any mischief yet," he said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Of course, if there was more to your wanting to leave abruptly than that, like needing to be alone for awhile, I quite understand."

"I see you haven't changed much," Jennifer chuckled, shaking her head and accepting a cup from Rosmerta before sitting down.

"Some ways he's changed a lot, but in other ways he hasn't I'd say," Rosmerta said with an enigmatic smile, handing him a cup as well. "But if you'll excuse me, I need to check up front real quick and get Albus his paper. I'll be back in a few minutes." Jennifer watched her leave and shook her head, and Albus sat down as well.

"Why is it that all the sudden I feel like I just got cornered?" Jennifer chuckled softly.

"Does it? And here I was simply trying to surprise you, which, by the way, is not an easy feat," Albus pointed out with a smile.

"You did at that!" Jennifer reassured him emphatically. "When did you get back?"

"Early yesterday. I've been spending some time getting caught up with my sister as well as current events," he explained, "although I must admit I was rather hoping to see you today. How are things at the school?"

"Oh, um, well, about the same as ever," Jennifer said with a grin.

"The family?" Albus inquired thoughtfully, sipping his tea.

"All in one piece, at last report," Jennifer said.

"Severus?" Albus asked quietly, gazing thoughtfully at the leaves in the bottom of his cup.

"Well, he's turning into a brilliant Headmaster, Albus," Jennifer said fervently.

"Of that I'm sure. I wouldn't have chosen him otherwise," Albus said. "Does he like his job?"

"What?"

"Does Severus like his new job?" Albus said, gazing at her intently. She hesitated, but he took no notice, waiting patiently for her to realize there was no honest way of giving a positive response to that one.

"He hates it," Jennifer admitted at last, letting out a long sigh. "With a passion." Albus nodded gently in acceptance, finally pouring himself another cup of tea.

"Ever tried to quit?" Albus asked after adding just a sprinkle of sugar.

"No, not really, not that he hasn't thought about it on occasion," Jennifer admitted. "But there really is no one better suited for the position right now, and he knows it, and if there's one thing Severus would never do is compromise the school. He loves Hogwarts way too much for that; as strong as he ever has before, I've no doubt of that. But he does miss teaching," she sighed, Albus looking slightly surprised for some reason. "And honestly, I think the whole thing that's been building the last couple years is less about the school or even the job itself and more about the feeling that he's lived past his time. He feels almost trapped by the fact he's reached pretty much all the goals he set out for his life, and now that he hasn't any obstacles left, it's like he's looking back and wondering if any of the goals he had set really mattered all that much, personal as well as professional." Suddenly Jennifer looked up at Albus' intense gaze, grimacing apologetically. "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to go on like that…"

"Not at all, Jennifer, I suspect it was long overdue, especially after your attempts to bat my questions away earlier. You've been doing that to everyone, haven't you?" Albus said knowingly.

"Well, mostly when the matter comes up, I simply ask them to give him some space to work it out," Jennifer admitted. "It seems like this is a battle so deep even I can't influence it." Albus smiled gently and put a comforting hand on hers.

"You have been his anchor recently, Jennifer, of that I have no doubt at all."

"Well it is in the job description, after all, being head of security," Jennifer chuckled softly.

"And just how are the both of your getting along professionally, short of what you just mentioned?"

"On a day to day basis, I'd say our professional relationship has never been stronger," Jennifer admitted, Albus' smile growing broader at that. "We never bicker about procedures like we did when we were both teachers, but then how can we, when he gets the final word?" she chuckled again. "And yet, at the same time, I can say that when I do have an objection he does seem to listen more, and when he does turn it down it's obviously after considering it and not just discounting as he used to do. He also gives me the space I need to do my job, which is something he certainly never did before he took over. Although I admit it makes me feel a bit guilty to love my job as Potion Master and Security so much when he hates his; especially considering that he was the one doing both at one point."

"Well, I don't think you have any reason to feel guilty, and I am glad you at least are happy with where you are in life right now, Jennifer."

"Content yes, but happy is probably stretching it a bit, Albus, because I can't really be happy when Severus isn't," Jennifer said quietly. "Not that he's like that all the time, not at all. It does seem to come and go, and I think mostly because it's there's usually too much going on in that castle right now for him to spend much time dwelling on it. But I know it's still there, lurking in the back of his mind until his frustration with life gets the better of him and it comes out full force." Albus nodded thoughtfully.

"Does he speak to anyone about it at all?"

"Me, of course, and Hermione about the work side of it," Jennifer said, Albus looking a bit more reassured by that. "He talks to Aurelius also, from time to time."

"Well, I am glad to hear that. And who do you go to about it?" Albus asked, completely unsurprised when he ran into a wall of silence. Jennifer suddenly became absorbed in the process of pouring a fresh cup of tea, only to look up to see him still staring fixedly at her, holding his hand out. Grimacing at what she read in his face, Jennifer handed him her pocket mirror. "Yes, that's what I thought."

"Albus, you know how private Severus is. I really don't feel comfortable talking about it with anyone. I haven't since Minerva left. It'd feel like…well…"

"I hardly think Severus would think ill of you for gaining some confidants, Jennifer, so long as you're not cutting him off in the process. And I dare say for the most part the two of you have gotten over that, short of these one day bouts like you've been having." Jennifer grimaced at that. "Of course, you can deny that if you like."

"And have you offer my mirror back, no doubt, don't think I'm not onto you," Jennifer chuckled at him, and Albus smiled in response.

"Jennifer, as concerned as I am about Severus right now, I must admit I'm more concerned about you having no one else to turn to about this problem…a problem which, if I'm not mistaken, isn't likely to sort itself out anytime in the near future," he warned her, Jennifer's face falling in response. "He's going to need lots of time to work through this, you and I both know that. But I'll make a deal with you. If you're willing to help him through the personal half of this little crisis, I'll help him through the professional part of it during the times I'm here."

"Help him? But how?" Jennifer asked, biting back her frustration.

"Simply by reminding him of all the positives in his life and not letting him dwell so much on the negatives. You'll find it'll go a long way to help steer him back on the right track," Albus said. "Although I wouldn't necessarily rush to argue with him when he gets in one of these dark moods either. Let them burn themselves out."

"I have been doing that much," Jennifer admitted.

"Good," Albus smiled. "Of course you know, Jennifer, you can always come to me about anything, so I hope you'll at least agree to confiding in me for now, and perhaps later I can suggest one or two more obvious choices for the position. I plan to stay and spend Christmas here with my sister, so you can expect me until about until January, at least."

"Perhaps you'll be here when Alex and Hermione have their babies then," Jennifer said. Albus began to nod at first then blinked.

"Did you say Hermione is having a baby as well? Who will be filling in for Deputy Headmaster?" he asked with a frown.

"Guess," Jennifer said dryly.

"Oh. Well, doesn't that sound exciting?" Albus said with amusement, ignoring the glowering look on Jennifer's face as he put down his cup. "I'm so glad I had this chance to…well, 'corner' you, as you put it. I had hoped to manage it before I went to visit the castle, and I at least feel a lot better for our visit."

"Well, I certainly feel a lot better," Jennifer said emphatically, accepting her mirror back before getting up. "I guess I needed company a lot more than I thought I did." Albus chuckled softly at that.

"And you have been better company than you thought you might be," he assured her. "Best get back to your work then, but I'm certain I'll see you soon," he promised.

"Thank you, Albus," Jennifer smiled, but he raised his brows innocently.

"For what?"

"Just for being here," Jennifer said with a smile before slipping back to the front.

It wasn't until several minutes later after checking in with Tangent at the Professor's table and heading out of the Brooms when she realized she hadn't warned Albus about the lab breach.

After a very leisurely walk through the Dark Forest and quick chat with Firenze, Albus Dumbledore stepped out of the trees with a contented sigh, pausing to gaze at Hogwarts and wonder to himself how different it might seem now that he had had a couple of months away from it in a land where thought was more important than matter.

It had had an effect on him, much more than Jennifer realized; and not in the least of which was the fact that he had completely lost his sense of urgency. The long way now was always the preferred way, and he had no qualms no matter what he was doing to stop short to study or admire something that peaked his interest along the way, whether it was a particularly lovely rose bush or an unusually bold ant attempting to drag along a very ambitious piece of Sagittari's famous pita bread which had probably fallen out of a recent picnic basket. He wandered up the ridge to pick a few strawberries for himself, inspecting them carefully to see how they were progressing before deciding to wander down to the lake, watching the lapping water until he spied the momentary tentacle of one of the krakens. Smiling contentedly, Albus nodded to himself and followed the shoreline towards Hogwarts.

But as he was approaching the boathouse, he suddenly stopped short, frowning at the huge tarp covering the lake side of the castle with complete surprise. Curiously, he stepped around to get a better view of the water, staring at the large pile of stone, rubble and debris still darkening the water below.

"What have they done to my castle?" Albus said to himself out loud, staring at its location thoughtfully for a while before finally deciding to make his way inside. He smiled at some of the first and second year students that he passed, recognizing some of them by their family lines if not by name, and wondering to himself why there weren't more of them hanging around or even outside on the cold but quite sunny afternoon. Even more curious, they all seemed to have books in hand. Of course, they would have tests coming up before they went home for the holidays, he reasoned to himself, intentionally taking the back corridors to avoid any direct contact with the staff before he was ready. Every now and then, he stopped to gaze at a barren wall, thinking of the painting that should have been there. This, at least, was no surprise; he had gotten wind of the problem with the paintings well before he arrived. It was the amount of them that made him stop and ponder it, but always ended up shrugging to himself before wandering further down the hall.

But it was as he cut over in front of the library to reach the back stairwell that he got the biggest surprise of all. Hugging the doorway to keep himself hidden from view, he peered inside in complete bewilderment, for the library was packed. Tables along the main row had been pulled out to try and make room for everyone, and not only first and second years but also a good portion of all the other years who opted to stay behind that last Hogsmeade trip before the holidays to study. Albus pondered the matter as long as he dared, knowing that sooner or later one of the staff that stayed for the weekend would catch up with him if he stood there too long. He kept puzzling over it as he turned to reach the back stair, and then stopped short to see himself facing a large barricade across the entry to the stairwell.

Curiously he passed beyond it and peered down the stairwell and inspected the damage thoughtfully, then stared upwards fixedly for a moment before finally stepping down a narrow wooden stair that had been temporarily transfigured to lead down into the construction area. A team of dwarves he encountered there paid him no mind, as they were busily working on the castle's foundation, not questioning him at all as he stepped over to where the potion lab once stood and found himself staring at a stark stone floor, a pair of stone pillars, and the back of the tarp.

Fifteen stories above his head, Severus looked up in annoyance when his appointment book opened up and decided to write in on that hour's line. Reluctantly he looked over, blinked, and then stared with a dropped jaw when he read, "Go down to the dungeon and explain to Albus Dumbledore where the potion lab went", underlined three times.

Jumping out of his chair and discarding his quill, Severus raced out of the room, practically leaping over the barricade on his level to hurry down the backstairs, not pulling up until he reached the wooden ones. Then he carefully stepped onto them and calmly walked down while trying to make as little noise as possible. The dwarven foreman immediately wished him a good afternoon as he walked over, Severus nodding in reply before coming over to stand by his old mentor.

"Good afternoon, sir, I hadn't heard you had returned," Severus said evenly.

"Yes, I decided to drop by and visit my sister now that I'm settled," Albus said, still gazing at the hole in the castle. "I see you've been having an exciting year. Did everyone get out all right?"

"Yes, sir, for the most part, short of a broken arm by the erring student. I'm afraid one of Jennifer's class demonstrations went a bit awry, although I am certain it's the last time any of those students try a volatile formula without double-checking the labels again," Severus said dryly.

"Oh, well, as long as it was for educational reasons," Albus said good-naturedly. "The Memoritorium and Houserooms are all right?"

"Yes, sir," Severus said with a nod.

"Albus will do, Severus, you hardly need me to call me sir. It's your school, now, after all," Albus chided him lightly. "So what else have you been up to in the…um…time I've been away?"

"Eight years, sir," Severus said, Albus frowning at him with furrowed brows. "Albus," he added with some reluctance, Albus smiling in response. "Care to see the staff research library?"

"Research library?" Albus asked open interest.

"A side project of mine I finished the summer before last. I had gotten tired of hearing all the prodding, haggling, bickering and bribery by staff members every time one of them needed to borrow a rare book out of their field," Severus explained, leading him back upstairs. "Staff members are encouraged to loan their books to the room with the stipulation that no one but the owners themselves can take it out, but any staff member needing them can use them there freely. I put it back where the old storeroom used to be…Boulderdash preferred to have most of those moved next to his office anyway."

Several students glanced up distractedly as they entered, most of their eyes turning curiously towards the Headmaster while one or two others gazed thoughtfully at his guest, watching them as they headed to the back. Albus glanced wistfully at the desk to see a pair of seventh years standing behind the counter, the one with obvious ties to the Weasley family grinning and nodding to him as they passed.

"What an astounding amount of industrious students you have, so close to the holidays," Albus couldn't help but comment.

"A great many of our students are worried that they won't see much of a holiday because of their marks this year," Severus explained somberly. Albus looked at him curiously but didn't say anything, following close behind to see the entire back wall of the library had been rebuilt. Severus gently touched the door just above the knob for a moment, concentrating on making an exception to the elaborate lock before finally pulling it open. "There we are. Had to put you in the system," he explained, holding the door for him.

"It does seem secure at least," Albus said amusedly, knowing Severus' tendency to overly secure anything.

"Mostly," Severus said so dryly that Albus gazed at him quizzically. "We do have one particular student who could get in if she wanted, but she knows I'd murder her I caught her."

"There's always one, isn't there?" Albus said with obvious amusement, stepping inside. He immediately couldn't help but admire the ornate goblin scrollwork on the ends of all the bookcases, touching the wood reverently as he glanced over the titles, his eyes then traveling over towards a pedestal in the center of the room covered with a long black drape. A pair of large, heavy tables with plenty of room to spread out lengthy scrolls or large maps stood just beyond on the either side of a wide walkway leading to an open area near the windows.

Behind the tables was a wooden cubby-style shelving unit with nameplates on them like a mail sorting system; but each square large enough to hold several books and scrolls. As they walked closer, Albus smiled as he immediately recognized the pink-haired woman sitting at one of the tables reading. She glanced up momentarily when she saw movement only to look back up wide-eyed, standing up quickly and knocking over several chairs as she ran over and hugged the old wizard with enthusiasm. Severus simply rolled his eyes, discretely picking up the chairs behind her with a hand gesture.

"It's so good to see you, Albus! You're too much of a stranger!" she scolded him.

"It's good to see you too, Tonks! I didn't know you were still here," Albus smiled.

"Ah, yeah, I'm Defense now. They can't do without me," Tonks said, ignoring the expression on Severus' face at that comment. "Professor, I found where I put those two tomes on Vampires you wanted. I put them over there on your research pile."

"Thank you, I'll glance at them later," Severus said with a nod.

"Come find me later when you're not busy Albus," Tonks said with a smile, going back to what she was working on.

"I will do so," he said with a smile. "Severus, if there's anything else you need to be doing as well, feel free to say so, I can always call back," Albus said easily.

"As it so happens, I have another hour or so free before a student conference. I was merely passing the time gathering weapons for the next board meeting," Severus said easily.

"Weapons?" Albus chuckled. "Are you at war with the board, Severus?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," Severus said briskly, leading him back up front.

"And who is winning?" Albus asked.

"No one at the moment, but if all goes as planned, the students will," Severus said firmly. Albus smiled warmly at him.

"In that case, it sounds as if a battle worth fighting," he said.

"Yes, even though I'm afraid I had to put the students on the front lines for this one…why don't we go up to the Study for a bit? Have you had lunch?"

"A handful of strawberries on the way, really," Albus admitted.

"And I a handful of licorice," Severus admitted, Albus looking rather amused by that as they stepped back into the main library.

"I don't suppose Boulderdash is here? I'd hate to pass by and not say hello if he is," Albus said as they walked through.

"I'm certain he is," Severus said, walking over to the office, nodding to Dale Chance who was watching them curiously from where he sat across from the door, wondering with a frown if Lucky and her friends were about to get a rather unwelcome surprise.

For the Fifth House had gotten together after lunch as they always did on the weekends and was killing a bit of time waiting for Ambrose to show up, distractedly going through their reviews until Laura brought something out of her bag; a wooden frame filled with beads.

"Here it is, Lena, this is what I was talking about," Laura said. Helena frowned at it.

"It's just a regular old abacus, isn't it? I don't see how that's going to help more than the way I'm doing our points now," Helena said.

"Yeah, it looks just like the same ones we use in class," Lucky shrugged, but Laura shook her head.

"Not this one, Lucky. This one is specifically charmed to automatically update any point losses or point gains we get, just like the hour glasses out in the hall," Laura explained. "All you have to do is tap your wand to it to get added to the people it tallies…right now it's just Lindsay and me because I was using her to test it to make sure it works. We do need to put our old total in besides what Laura and I earned last night though, but after that it should take care of itself."

"Well, if this is the last time I ask to tally up point totals, I'm all for it," Helena said with a grin, holding her hand out for their lists. "That'll definitely make everyone's lives easier if we don't have to keep track all the time."

"I might keep track of mine anyhow," Lucky admitted, "but if that thing works, I'm all for using it. Can you show me how to charm it to get it to do that?"

"Well," Laura said, hesitating slightly as she looked at Lindsay. "To be perfectly honest, I got someone else to charm it for me. I don't know how to do it either."  
"What?" Connie blinked at her with a frown. "You didn't tell them what it was for, did you? I thought this was supposed to be a secret and all."

"A lot of people see us come back here, Connie," Lindsay said. "But most of them think we just come back here to study." Boulderdash snorted from where he was standing at a damaged library table, carefully clamping a stack of pages to be rebound.

"Well, either way, he was only trying to help, and it really will make things easier for us," Laura said, Helena agreeing with a nod.

"He?" Lucky said, her face darkening. "In other words, Chance did it." Lindsay and Laura grimaced. "I say you give it back to him and tell him where to put it."

"He's only trying to be nice, Lucky," Pimra said quietly.

"Uh uh, there's no such thing. Never trust anybody who tries to be nice for no good reason," Lucky said, "Cuz there's always somethin' they're not tellin' ya."

"Well, I'm not going to turn it down just because you don't like him, Lucky, we're a small house and need every advantage we can get," Lena said, taking the abacus and going over her numbers trying to get them all up to date. Lucky folded her arms and glowered at her.

"Maybe we should go over your Transfiguration review again, Lucky," Laura suggested. Lucky groaned at that.

"I'd rather help Connie with Potions," Lucky said dryly, but Connie brightened hopefully anyhow.

"I thought we were going to pick colors today," Pimra said. "Didn't Ambrose say he wanted to get that figured out so he could get his mother to make us patches or something?"

"Yeah, but he should be here soon. Choir's been over for a while and he don't have much more of that report left to do," Lucky said, pulling out her Potions homework.

"Maybe that was him," Pimra said.

"What?" Lucky said.

"I heard a knock while you were talking," she explained.

"Ambrose wouldn't knock. He'd come right in," Lindsay chuckled.

"Lucky, why don't you go check and make sure? My hands are covered in glue at the moment," Boulderdash suggested.

"Can I look at your homework while you're gone?" Connie asked brightly.

"Do you really think Professor Craw would buy it for an instant?" Laura pointed out with a frown, pointing Connie towards her own book as Lucky got up and went out of the storage room to open the door.

As the door opened, Albus peered in to see a young, dark-haired, dark-eyed girl whose face suddenly turned pasty at the sight of the Headmaster, despite the fact that the Headmaster seemed neither surprised nor concerned that she was there.

"Fortuna, would you ask Boulderdash to come into his office for a moment? Let him know he has a visitor," Severus said.

"Sure," Lucky said warily and let them in, too busy trying to gauge Snape's reaction to her presence to give a second thought to the other wizard standing there.

"And come back with him so I have a chance to introduce you," he said casually, peaking Albus' interest again. He grew even more curious when the girl attempted to slip into the storage room with as little door gap as possible, but even then, Albus got a brief glimpse of a number of students sitting at a table just beyond it. As the door closed a number of loud gasps and some muffled chattering could be heard, Severus rolling his eyes in response. Albus peered at him quizzically.

"Just a secret student organization I know nothing about," Severus explained.

"Oh, I see," Albus said, immediately trying to hide his amusement as Boulderdash came in with Lucky close behind. She stood in front of the storage room door as if guarding it.

"Ah! Dumbledore!" Boulderdash said with his disturbingly toothy smile. "Good to see you! Forgive my appearance, I've been busy rebinding a first edition Incantus Enchantus."

"And I see you've had help," Severus said, squinting at Lucky who gazed back expressionlessly. "And just how did you get detention this time, Fortuna?"

"She was talking in the library," Boulderdash offered, smirking at her.

"Yes, well, that I can believe," Severus frowned, pulling her over. "Albus Dumbledore, my daughter, Fortuna Snape."

"Daughter?" Albus said, intrigued. "Did it to you again, did she?" Severus cleared his throat.

"Everyone calls me Lucky. Well, everyone but him," Lucky said, jerking her head slightly towards Severus.

"I'm delighted to meet you, Lucky," Albus said with a smile.

"Nice to meet ya," Lucky said. "Who are you again?"

"Why don't you go back to what you were doing now, Fortuna," Severus said with a warning smile. Lucky shrugged and waved, heading back to the storage room. Another murmur broke out only to stop with a round of hushing. Boulderdash chuckled.

"Yes, well, now you can guess why I keep them back here instead of disturbing my library all the time," the goblin said.

"Perhaps you might be willing to come visit me at the Three Brooms while I'm here? I'd love to hear how you and your brother is doing," Albus suggested.

"Yes, I would like that," Boulderdash agreed. "Perhaps in another week when the students are no longer stressing about tests they can't possibly pass."

"Some are passing them," Severus said evenly, Albus watching the exchange thoughtfully. But Boulderdash nodded cordially in response.

"I stand corrected," he said with another toothy grin. Just then, the office door burst open and Albus turned around in surprise to see a very young boy run in and straight towards the storage room door, stopping short when he noticed the three of them staring at him. "Speaking of the devil himself," the goblin added with amusement. Ambrose stared openly at Albus, speculating if it was the same man he had seen in the painting.

"Don't you knock when coming in a staff office door, Mr. Bailey?" Severus said critically. Hearing the name, Albus became even more interested than before.

"Your pardon, Headmaster, my aids were instructed to come in on their own," Boulderdash stepped in. "I don't often get visitors where it'd matter much."

"A second year aid?" Severus repeated dubiously.

"Second year?" Albus repeated, gazing at the boy with wonder. "Is this Ambrose Bailey?" Ambrose gazed at the man again, looking a bit disappointed when he heard his voice.

"Yes, Ambrose Bailey, second year Hufflepuff. Ambrose, this is Albus Dumbledore," Severus said.

"Dumbledore!" Ambrose said, finally recognizing him for who he was and breaking out in an excited smile. "Wow, I thought you were in the Otherworld!"

"And I thought you were still in primary school, but now I see we're both mistaken," Albus said mischievously.

"Now you know how the battle erupted," Severus said in a low voice, making Albus even more amused.

"I merely came for a visit, young Ambrose. So you're a Hufflepuff! That's rather unexpected as well, isn't it, why Hufflepuff?" Albus asked, looking at Severus.

"To strengthen his sense of duty and hard work was the reason we were given," Severus answered.

"Well, I don't know who said that, Godfather, but that's not really what happened," Ambrose said, the other three looking at him with open curiosity. "The Sorting Hat said I was equally suited for any of the four houses and I could have my pick. When I asked him what house my father was in, he said he didn't have a house, so I asked him to put me in my mother's instead. I was looking for more of a hint than that," Ambrose admitted ruefully after seeing Severus' alarmed, calculating expression.

"There was a hint," Albus decided, Severus turning to give him a sharp warning look.

"Mr. Bailey, why don't you go study?" Severus said quickly.

"Don't we have a meeting later?" Ambrose asked worriedly, wondering if Severus was going to cancel as he looked over at Albus.

"A meeting which I won't allow you to attend if your homework isn't finished," Severus said curtly.

"Nice to meet you," Ambrose said quickly, then slipped in the door, trying to minimize the gap on his way in just as Lucky had done. Severus positioned himself next to the storage room door, using his wand to temporarily muffle the sound.

"Brilliant boy," Boulderdash commented when the door finally shut.

"From what little I just saw I would say that is an understatement," Albus said.

"Why else do you think I took on the headache of letting him stay," Severus said in a low voice.

"It wasn't your idea, Severus?" Albus asked.

"We'd better head up for lunch before you gather more questions than I have time to answer," Severus decided.

"Sounds like a wise idea," Albus agreed with amusement.

"Yes, and I should get in and reassure my House that you are oblivious to what they're really up to," Boulderdash sneered, his dark eyes glittering with amusement.

"Agreed. Just don't let Bailey leave unless everything is done. I really need to see that report today," Severus said, stepping away from the door.

"Of course, Headmaster. I will see you later, Albus, welcome back," Boulderdash said.

"Thank you," Albus said with a smile before following Severus out.

"I have another question now, Severus," Albus admitted as they walked out of the library, thinking of how the goblin referred to them as his house.

"As if I didn't see that one coming," Severus said in a low voice before leading him up to the Study.


	27. Clan of the Sunset Dawn

Twenty-Seven

Clan of the Sunset Dawn

Severus stepped in that evening to find Jennifer sitting at her vanity, sorting through her jewelry box.

"Making room for Christmas already?" he asked expressionlessly, Jennifer giving him a dirty look.

"As if I needed any more. I think over the years you've given me one of every charm and enchanted piece in Tassel and Panning's inventory," Jennifer said with exasperation.

"Not true, I'm still getting caught up on earrings. I thought you'd never get them pierced," he said, walking behind her to inspect some of the pieces himself.

"Blame Alex, she can be very persuasive when she wants to be," Jennifer chuckled.

"Yes, I wonder who she gets that from," he said, shaking his head. "By the way, Pyther is here. I noticed him come in as I was getting up."

"I guess I should get going then," Jennifer sighed. "At least the contamination is starting to slow down again…I don't suppose Lucky would want a class ring?"

"She would have even less reason to wear it than the others did, and they at least were true to their house," Severus said dryly.

"Oh, come on, Lucky's a total Gryffindor by nature and you know it, Severus," Jennifer said.

"She doesn't," Severus said. "We could always get her more sports equipment or more games for that box of hers."

"I really wanted to get her something magic this year, Severus," Jennifer protested. "Something that would help her feel more a part of things. She's so disconnected…" she murmured distractedly, picking up her charm bracelet. "I should get her a stone for this too while I'm at it."

"Well, it isn't as if you ever wear the thing anymore," Severus shrugged.

"That doesn't matter, it should still be on here," Jennifer said firmly, sticking it in one of the small compartments on top so she wouldn't forget it. "It's just that ever since Aurelius became an Auror, his emerald flashes danger so often I just couldn't take it anymore."

"Yes, well, it is his part of his job, after all, and one he's rather good at, might I add…"

"I didn't mean to imply I was ever worried, Severus, only that it is very nerve wracking having the thing going off all the time," Jennifer said, then caught a flash out of the corner of her eye and looked over to see it blinking. "There, see what I mean? There it goes again!" Jennifer said with exasperation. Severus glanced at it and got ready to say something but then paused, frowning.

"That's not the emerald flashing, Jennifer, that's the diamond," Severus said, feeling a sense of foreboding as he looked at it.

"What? But that's Alicia's stone! I thought she was home, didn't you say Pyther was here?" Jennifer said in confusion, picking up the charm bracelet to stare at the flashing diamond. Severus immediately went for his watch; his face paling when he saw hers had swung over to "Mortal Peril." He swiftly turned towards the door, Jennifer grabbing the bracelet and following after him as hurried down the staircases and through the corridor to Jennifer's classroom to see Francis setting up for another repair, looking at Severus with surprise when they burst in.

"Did Alicia say anything to you about where she was going to be today?" Severus asked quickly.

"No, I didn't even see her yesterday, really, I was trying to get caught up on appointments. Is there something wrong?" Francis asked with a frown.

"Apparently she's in some sort of trouble…" he said then paused, glancing at the bracelet in Jennifer's hand again as another one began to flash.

"That one's Aurelius' gem, Severus," Jennifer said. "Do you suppose it's a coincidence?"

"If it isn't, Alicia is most definitely in mortal peril. I sent Aurelius to southern Germany a week ago," Severus said.

"No!" Francis shrieked, diving for the window.

"Stop, Pyther, you fool, you'll only make things worse!" Severus shouted, but Pyther ignored him, changing to his bat form and flying out before they could stop him.

"Should I go after him, Severus?" Jennifer asked. Severus stared out the window a moment, and then sighed.

"No, let's just get a flame to Andrew. I sent him to check on Rel for the weekend just in case something like this happened. Let's just hope Pyther doesn't get them all killed in the process," Severus said worriedly, glancing at his watch once more to make sure Aurelius' hand was still on 'Elsewhere'.

When Alicia got the Owl from Pyther the day before explaining that he had a full appointment book and would get back to her in a few days, Alicia couldn't help but be suspicious that it was as much to avoid the impending conversation and demand for explanations as much as his actual workload. She tried to talk herself out of the notion; after all, she knew very well that his time had been limited since the very beginning. Just what was he doing? He never wanted to talk about it. Then again, he never wanted to talk about much of anything. Growling in frustration, Alicia attempted to concentrate on her work, carefully packing finished paintings for travel and leaving only what little she would need for the current panorama she was working on of Pole Plaza.

Jacob took her brooding in stride; it was hardly one of the first times she had fallen into one of these dark moods, and the fact she had agreed to go to St. Trop with him after she moved back home had given him a bit of hope. Without complaint he went to work and gave her the space she needed, stopping only to fix them both something to eat and insist she stop as well, knowing just as he sometimes did when work consumed him that she would more than likely forget to eat at all if he didn't. Even still, she ended up working well after midnight, touching up what she could on her panorama before making one last trip to Pole Plaza to try to get it a little more detail done before Pyther returned to his studio that afternoon.

As it happened, she never got the chance to go back.

For the Whitebridge graduate she lived with had never had any reason to pursue Defense after filling the required two years; and never had the young scientist ever had any occasion been in any real danger in his life. Who would bother, really, when it came down to it? He had no money and there was little reason to see a wizard who found natural weather more fascinating than dragons as any sort of a threat. Jacob was in many respects the typical, average wizard, who had never had an adventurous moment in his life except for the occasional nature outing or wildlife tour. So when someone called out from outside the entrance saying they were a friend of Alicia's and asked to come in, Jacob didn't give it a passing thought, telling them to come in as he tried to finish his last line of observations. Before he even looked up, the pack of vampires were on them, and Jacob was not even able to get out a cry of warning as they descended on them.

Alicia felt herself being pulled out of bed and she frantically grabbed for her wand under her pillow as several figures tried to get her hands behind her. But there were too many for her to get a chance and they quickly got her hands behind her back, and before she could try anything else, a heavy black cloth was pulled over her head.

That's just great, which one of Father's old enemies had caught up with her this time, she wondered, almost wishing for the first time in a while that she had worn her class ring as they dragged her outside into the chill air and began speaking in a language she didn't understand. Well, they hadn't killed her yet and they had had the opportunity, she reasoned, wondering if Jacob was all right. Would they know of her talent? Testing her bindings, she realized she could at least move her fingers, so maybe she could still get out of this on her own. Just then someone roughly picked her up without even a hint of effort, and Alicia really started wondering exactly whom she was dealing with. But she hadn't much time to think of it when she was hit with a wave of dizziness and realized she must have been transported somewhere.

A full chorus of other voices joined those that had taken her, accompanied by strange snarls and howls from beasts nearby. Both the threatening voices and the snarls seemed to be almost jeering as she was painfully lashed to a pole. As the shroud was torn off, Alicia found herself in a dense forest surrounded by several dozen vampires, some in wolf form, others in human, and all with red eyes and black hair and fur.

"Ah craters," Alicia muttered, wondering if she ever sent the last copy of her will to Vallid.

"Bonne nuit, Mademoiselle Snape," called out one and stepped into the moonlight. Even had she not recognized the voice, she would have recognized the strong jawline at once.

"Foncé," Alicia said with certainty. "Where's Jacob?"

"Jacob?" Foncé asked puzzled, then someone said something beside him in another language. "Oh, him. Not that it matters, but I believe they left him, although I wouldn't put it past any of my brothers or sisters of stopping for a snack," he said with a thin smile. "And I would be a little more worried about your own position if I were you, especially once our Revenant and our dear Brother Francis arrives. Oh, don't worry; Brother Francis will be in one piece. It's against our code to hurt one of our own," he said in a tone that let her know he would have disposed of Pyther before then had he been allowed. "And although I wouldn't be taking any wagers on whether or not any sort of bargain is made that spares your life, I suggest you simply stay where you are and don't try anything. Or, to put it more bluntly, if I see you struggling against your bonds, I'll break your wrists," he said, smiling primly before walking back over and saying something to the others and getting a round of laughter in response.

Alicia sighed, wondering what time it was where they were. She shivered against the cold, realizing the flannel nightgown and pair of sweats she slept in wasn't much protection against the icy winter air, above zero or not. Most of the vampires seemed to be ignoring her now, talking among themselves, although every now and then one of the vampires in wolf form would walk over to her to growl or snap menacingly at her feet. Alicia wasn't sure if it was meant as a warning or as entertainment, although she suspected it was a little of both. Would Francis even know where to look for her, even if he knew what was going on? Would he even be willing to come there in the first place?

Alicia shook her head at herself. As much of a coward as Francis could be, he was not the type to let a friend down no matter how bad his personal fears were. At the same time, she also wouldn't put it past him to arrive only to faint at her feet either. Alicia frowned then, wondering if her parents would even realize what had happened to them until well after the fact. The nightmares that plagued Alicia's mind the night Ciardoth attacked her seemed to be playing out before her, but no Dumbledore was here to help her this time, nor anyone else for that matter.

It was just as she was coming to the startling conclusion that as a Snape she had always taken family help for granted and the fact that observation may very well be her last, that she heard a strange noise from behind her and then felt something heavy land around her neck and against her chest. Alicia peered down in confusion and then blinked in surprise to see Medusa's golden face and realized it was the Aegis. A finger tapped three times on the palm of her hand, and then she felt the mouth of a phial next to her lips then and reluctantly drank it, wondering what it was for but a bit afraid that whispering would attract the wolves' attentions again. Apparently so was Andrew, for there could be no doubt it was him now; nor did he attempt to untie her but simply moved away leaving her anxiously waiting for the next foot to drop.

How long it took, Alicia wasn't sure. But she stayed alert, waiting for any signs from her brothers as well as watching the vampires' movements. Suddenly, she heard all the wolves break into a low growl and the rest of them attempted to home into a direction. She followed their eyes to the left of her, spotting a lone bat working its way through the trees until it finally landed and turned into Francis Pyther, walking up as calmly as he could. Not once did he look at Alicia as he joined the pack, his fists clenched despite his efforts to stay steady. Francis said something to Foncé in the same language, and Alicia couldn't help but notice the malicious grins passed between several of the vampires standing with him.

"You want your mark back?" Foncé said in English, some of the other vampires hissing softly at the apparent insult. "Brother Francis, I was kind enough to deliver your mark on a bed of roses, and you, sir, declined the gift."

"I did no such thing. We were interrupted, as you well know…" Francis snapped.

"Conveniently," Foncé said with a frigid smile. "Much too conveniently. Either way, you've had plenty of time to make good, and as far as I'm concerned that makes your claim to her forfeit, especially since she wasn't anywhere near your territory when we found her. She's my mark, not yours."

"It is not your place to make that decision, Brother Wingard," Francis said, anger lacing his quiet voice.

"Yes, which is why I brought her here so she…and you…can be dealt with properly," Foncé said with amusement.

"Where is the Revenant?" Francis asked.

"Running an errand, which I'm sure you'll be hearing all about," Foncé said with a sneer. "In fact, I do believe that's him now."

Alicia glanced around but didn't see anything at first. But then she felt her skin begin to crawl and her heart drop, rather like it had when Foncé himself walked into the inn the first time they had met. This time, however, it was only beginning of the dark pressure she felt, growing stronger as the clan leader made his decent. Alicia couldn't help but stare as he flew to the ground…still in human form. His skin was so pale it was literally see-through; the veins from his human existence now blackened, crawling under his skin like spider webs. His jet hair was wild and somehow reminded her of wolf fur, and his eyes were so soulless, so piercing that Alicia had to admit she had never seen so scary a figure in all her life.

The vampires and wolves there had fallen into complete silence as he and his advisors arrived as a show of respect, none of them moving a muscle. The Revenant however only paused when his nostrils flared and he sniffed the air before forcing his paper skin into a look of utter disgust before asking something, which all of them answered at once. His eyes flashed red as he looked over at her and said something sharp to Foncé, who sounded reserved but somewhat apologetic. That was when he finally turned and walked over to Alicia, his gaze so alarming that her worst nightmares seemed tame in comparison, and yet she found she couldn't look away. The reflections in his red eyes were strange; wrong; it was not her face that reflected in them at all, but the visions of his hundreds of victims, like a mirror into Hell. It was then she knew without a doubt that it was the same vampire that she had seen stabbing the victor of the clan wars in the back in the painting at the Louvre.

"You don't look like a Snape," he mused in a steely voice. "You definitely smell like one, though. Wingard, her blood is not likely to be fit for consumption. Are you sure it's worth quarrelling with even him about?"

"We're disputing over a mark for her subservience, Father Rafe," Foncé said. Alicia blinked.

"Hm, well that leaves out the cutting her in half idea, I suppose," Rafe said, finally glancing over at Francis, his look of disgust returning. "So here is the failed abortion attempt back in front of my presence again with a single stitch to his name. What claim do you have over this girl? She was found living far out of your territory."

"I have had a mark on her since she was going to Hogwarts, and that is in my territory, Father," Francis said quietly.

"And the recreant promptly threw you out for it, as I was given to understand," Foncé interrupted. Alicia blinked. It had been a long time since she had heard her father called by that term.

"He only threw me out of the castle. The town still pays me tribute, Brother…"

"Tribute? Is that what you call it? Perhaps it's true that your claim to the territory has protected them somewhat from a true threat, but it's hardly tribute," Foncé sneered. "Not only is it freely given, he drinks it cold out of a vault." Several of the vampires jeered or hissed at him and all the wolves growled.

"It keeps better that way," Francis said, gaining another round of jeers in response.

"I have often wondered if your arrangement with Hogsmeade hasn't been a bit too convenient for you, Francis," the Revenant said, his eyes flashing again as if reflecting light from an unknown source.

"No one else wanted to deal with an entire town of wizards, Father Revenant," Francis said.

"Neither have you, recently," Foncé pointed out again.

"And you'll be first to admit, Foncé, that I was with her when you came into _la Pâle_. In fact, I brought her. I merely had no control over the exit," Francis protested.

"Oh come now, this is Brother Francis we are speaking of," Foncé said, eyeing him with distain. "He had no intention of turning her into a servant, even when the odds were stacked in his favor."

The Revenant pursed his lips, looking thoughtfully at the girl, who stared at them defiantly back, intent on every word. Finally he nodded.

"Agreed. Francis, considering your history of being a pathetic coward, I cannot for a moment believe that you would risk bringing even the lowest wizard family's wrath on yourself for the sake of a pet. That said, son, how can I honor a mark that you have no intention of fulfilling? You were in Foncé's territory, and therefore he does have the right…"

"I also have a blood claim on her, Father," Francis interrupted in his clan's tongue.

"Impossible," Foncé snorted in kind.

"I see no marks on the girl, Francis," the Revenant said in English, squinting at his attempt to change languages. "I do not see how you could possibly have a blood claim on someone you have never touched. And since we are writing her death sentence, I see no reason for her not to understand it. What makes you think you have a claim to her blood when you obviously have not drank from her veins?" Francis hesitated, glancing at Alicia once before turning back to him.

"I drank her mother's blood when she was still in the womb," Francis said. Alicia's jaw dropped. "Her mother was a victim of an assassination attempt and I was brought in to help save both their lives, so therefore by blood rights and custom their lives are forfeit to me."

The Reverent scrutinized the trembling figure in front of him, growing thoughtful. Foncé frowned, looking between them.

"Surely such a thing would only apply to the mother, Father Revenant," Foncé said after a few moments had passed. "It isn't as if he ever took this girl's blood directly."

"There is a change in him, Wingard, there can be no doubt he did what he says he did," the Revenant said, gazing at Alicia in such a way that she felt as if he were looking at her more as if estimating her value than anything else. Suddenly an insidious smile crept on his face that had she an option would have made Alicia want to dive for the nearest painting.

"Very well, Francis, I will uphold your claim," the Revenant said, then turned to gaze at Foncé. "Wingard, you may have the contents of his blood vault for compensation. I'm sure considering your trade you'll find use for it…"

"What?" Francis said, wide-eyed.

"Oh, yes, perhaps I forgot to tell you, Francis, that while Foncé and his pack were securing your toy, I decided to see your former residence in Polaris Town," Revenant said. "You know as well as I that no vampire had currently claimed the territory, so I decided to take it myself and took the liberty of vacating you. And don't bother trying your house key, it won't work on a shop that's burnt to the ground. Care to know what happened to your little elf friend?" Francis shook his head, knowing Jangler was dead. "Just as well. We can't have you fainting on us before you finish your victim, can we? Earthbind him," he ordered before Francis could protest, the spell blasting him from behind so he couldn't Apparate. The Revenant simply looked amused as Francis got back to his feet, the fear on his face growing by the second.

"It is my judgment that you have a right to this girl's life; to turn her into one of us to take her rightful place as your servant as one of the Donnacht, or as we our better known, the Clan of the Sunset Dawn, third in age, first in size, first in terror, first in thirst. As such, child of the recreant, you should be honored that we would even allow it, for we do not follow the night…"

"The night follows us," the rest finished. Alicia gazed at them dubiously.

"You may think the night follows you, but if anything happens to me, you're going to have more following you than you bargained for when the rest of my family finds out, especially my father," Alicia snapped, and a great many of them sniggered in reply.

"Your father may stylize himself as a powerful wizard, Snape, but you'll find no fear of him in this clan," the Reverent said with a nasty sneer. "He will always be a sniveling hateful bumbling footstool who was loyal only to whichever side was winning to save his own hide. No man with blood that weak, let alone that putrescent, could ever be more than a foot lackey, and whatever reputation he's gotten over the years is surely over credited. I should have known then that this clan's pact with Voldemort would have been as sour as that boy's blood, but I admit at the time the thought of all the magicless humans we could use without fear or consequence just to protect the southern borders was quite enticing at the time," he mused. "I suppose I should have killed him, but Voldemort was watching. I suppose I could have 'accidentally' drank too much…as could any one of us had if his blood hadn't been so foul. Oh well, I suppose you will just have to take his place. Now, Francis, don't be shy. I passed judgment, so it's time to follow through."

"Now?" Francis said, his voice suddenly hoarse, but the Reverent had firmly gripped his arm and pulled him over to her.

"Well, I must make certain my word must be carried out, Francis. You know as well as I do what happens to those who go against their clan. All the protections you've been guaranteed over the centuries would be lifted, your territory would be forfeit to any clan member who sees fit to terrorize it, and your poor human father who foolishly gave his life so that you'd survive that first night will most undoubtedly have died in vain…not that I haven't always thought so," the Reverent said with such open hatred that several of the other vampires murmured or snickered.

Francis stood there a moment gazing at him, but as he looked full force into the vengeance and twisted delight in the Revenant's eyes, Francis didn't feel like fainting anymore. Instead, a strange calm washed over him and he turned to look at Alicia, whose eyes were already boring into him. She had noticed the change in his face as well, and in that moment knew what he was thinking. He walked up to her then, feeling eyes on his back and doing his best to ignore them.

"Alicia," Francis whispered softly. "Can you use a sketch if you can touch it but not see it?"

"I'm not leaving you, Francis," Alicia said firmly.

"Alicia, I'm dead either way…well, destroyed rather. It wouldn't have worked anyway, you know," he murmured. "It would have ended badly no matter what."

"Don't be stupid, Francis, just do what you have to do," she hissed.

"My darling, I can't," Francis said softly, wishing he could get her to understand.

"Exactly, you can't," Alicia said with such fervency that Francis stared at her in confusion, her eyes glancing downward. He glanced down as well, and then noticed the heavy chain on her neck.

"Francis, stop talking to your food and get it over with," the Reverent snapped, as Francis stood there, staring at her unsurely.

Francis' eyes then darted in different directions and looked back at her questioningly, and she nodded almost imperceptibly. Letting out something like a silent sigh, Francis stepped in closer to her then and pulled her hair away from her neck, wishing if something was going to happen that it'd happen then. Perhaps it would have been much better if it had, for when he leaned over to kiss her neck, he had missed his clan leader changing to gaseous form, reappearing behind Alicia with a knife in his hand to make certain she would die when he bit her.

"_Expelliarmus!"_ shouted Aurelius' voice from somewhere behind Alicia, the knife flying out of the Revenant's hand.

"Treachery!" the Revenant shouted, and the vampires either changed forms or grabbed wands, the wolves in front suddenly leaping towards Francis and Alicia.

"_LUMOS SOLEM!_" Three voices shouted out at once and the sky lit up like midday. But although the majority of vampires including Pyther himself went writhing to the ground, while the Reverent and several of the elder clan members took the blow with a mere wince before turning to where they heard the voices coming from.

"Francis!" Alicia shouted, struggling against her bonds.

"Andrew, get them out of here!" Aurelius said as he threw back his cloak to keep the Reverent occupied. Several wand blasts of light then came cross from another direction keeping the wolves away from them while another flashed against Alicia's hands, the ropes untying themselves and finally allowing her to get to the ground to where Francis lay, shaken and a bit burnt.

"No time for that, let's go!" Andrew said, appearing to help them up.

"There's too many of them. We need to cast the sun spell again!" a girls voice shouted, and Alicia saw Jamie Potter appear in front of them.

"No, you can't! Pyther's already hurt!" Alicia protested. But Andrew had noticed that Rel had his hands full and was even now starting to lose his edge against the ancient vampire who combated every spell thrown at him. It looked as if Rafe were moments away from wearing Rel down and overtaking him.

"Jamie, head for the rendezvous!" Andrew ordered. "Take them with you!" Jamie muttered but did as she was told, holding out a port key to Francis and Alicia while Andrew went charging after his brother, throwing a few shots of sunlight over his shoulder for good measure as the other three disappeared from view.

The trio landed hard in a pile on what appeared to be the front doorstep of a farm with the largest barn Alicia had ever seen. But Alicia forgot all about that when Francis let out a soft moan. She went over to him to cradle him, smothering his burnt face with kisses. She was even contemplating giving him an actual kiss and perhaps would have had not Andrew and Aurelius arrived, coming down on a haystack the first three had somehow missed by a foot when they had gotten there.

"Everyone all right?" Rel asked, glancing at the others before kneeling over to Francis, helping Alicia get him back on his feet. "Sorry about that, Pyther, didn't have a choice."

"Thank you," Francis said shakily. "We need to warn Hogsmeade. I'm afraid they're going to have trouble now because of me."

"Don't worry, Hogsmeade has been on alert since Halbert told me about that incident with Foncé," Andrew said. "Speaking of which, we should get inside. Halbert should have something for those burns, and I need to up a flame or two. We're at his father's farm, by the way."

"Wait a minute. Does our father know anything about all of this?" Alicia asked with alarm as they walked towards the farmhouse. Aurelius rolled his eyes and held up Severus' Invisibility Cloak, Jamie already having her father's folded on her arm.

"What do you think?" Aurelius asked in a tone so dry that Alicia groaned. "Once Pyther's taken care of and we've checked in, you're heading straight home, Alicia. It's too dangerous for you to go back to the research center now."

"But what about Jacob? Is he all right?" Alicia asked worriedly.

"I don't know, but Jamie and I are going to Polaris after we get you two to Baker Street to get your stuff, and then tomorrow you and I are going to have a long talk," Aurelius said so seriously that Alicia wondered if she wouldn't have been better off being fed to the vampires after all.


	28. Second Hand Torment

_A/N couple of corrections I made in this novel that will be applied to my other works in reverse that I want to mention. Sinistra's name at the time I did the original 14 books hadn't been released yet, so I went with Cassi (Cassiopeia) But now that it's been established as...Aurora...(ironically enough,) I'll be fixing that. Also...thanks to the fact there are several different edited editions of my stories floating around the web (you really wouldn't **believe** how many times I still go through and clean them up, I'm well over a dozen edits on the first book alone...scary how different my writing is than when I first started this thing!!!). Anyhow, I had changed Mandria's father's name whose name was once Dale (also quite ironic) to Sebastian. When I was going through old stories to double check particulars vital to this story in the other books I found that some still had some copies with Dale mentioned. Mr. Shea is only mentioned a couple times in this book since he quit the board...Caitlyn Shea will be more important in the next chapter...(there's a hint for ya.) But I thought I would let you know in case you have one of the older copies somewhere on file because I'll be on a search and destroy mission on those inconsistencies...Ya well, they crop up in any long series, amateur and professional alike...the benefit to using this medium rather than paper, of course, being that I can fix it and not have to bang my head into the wall every time I read it in print. And although these are minor fixes, just thought you guys ought to know in case you do download copies. I'll send along a note when I update the old ones with these fixes as well as some more destruction of overused 'suddenly's commas and so forth. Without further delay, here's the next chapter, where Severus and Jennifer come to the aggravating conclusion that having to take a back seat can be painful...JC Writer._

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Second Hand Torment

Alicia woke up with the sun in her eyes; so strangely unaccustomed to it as she had become over the last few weeks that the dim rays through the eyelet curtains was enough to break through the potion-laced haze, leaving her a bit groggy and disoriented.

She stared at the clean eggshell ceilings of the room she spent her turbulent teen years in, and then finally looked around to see some of her bags and paintings had been slipped in the door while she slept and a change of clothing laid out for her on the chair.

She grabbed her clothes and headed off to the bathroom to quickly put herself in order before finally slipping down the stairs, peering into the living room to see Alex laying across the couch watching television with her feet propped up on Ben's lap so he could rub them. Making a face of disgust, she walked down the hall towards the kitchen only to stop in front of the basement door, which had a huge padlock on it. She gazed at it with a frown before finally walking into the kitchen to find Aurelius making breakfast.

"What's with the padlock? I thought the basement locked from the inside?" Alicia asked.

"One lock is for keeping him in, the other is for keeping you out," Aurelius said without looking up. Alicia glowered at him.

"Isn't Rasputin down there?" she asked.

"Yeah, I fed him last night and left him down there to keep an eye on things," Aurelius said.

"Oh great, and in the evening we'll open it to find a petrified vampire," Alicia said grumpily.

"Francis has always been petrified," Aurelius snorted. Alicia glared at him again.

"I never realized you had developed our father's sense of humor," she grumbled.

"Probably because since you've graduated, you've never been home long enough to get to know any of us, short of a family crisis, and you missed even some of those," Aurelius said calmly. "Start the coffee, would you?"

"And since when do you cook?" Alicia asked, getting some beans from under the counter. Aurelius darted her a strange look.

"I learned even from training for Auror that I was either going to have to learn, starve, or eat convenient foods until I got too fat to chase anything down on foot anymore. The cabin doesn't have House Elves, you know."

"The cabin near the glen in the Dark Forest?" Alicia asked, getting a curt nod in response. "Is that where you're staying now?"

"On and off, when I'm not abroad chasing down criminals or using vampire packs to train surveillance to a new Auror trainee who got more than she bargained for," Aurelius said, handing Alicia some plates.

"You honestly don't expect me to believe your presence down there was coincidental," Alicia said, getting up to set the table. Ben slipped in and noticed the coffee had been started and went for the cups.

"No," Aurelius said, shifting out of Ben's way unconcernedly. "It was father's idea after the two of you ran into Foncé. Nobody was taking it seriously enough to suit him."

"Sounds like it's a good thing he did," Ben commented.

"Nobody asked you," Alicia said curtly.

"He's a member of this family too, Alicia," Aurelius said, moving to the dining room where Alex was already sitting, watching the whole exchange intently. "And considering you're staying here for the next few months, they have a right to know what's going on."

"I'm just glad no one got killed from what little I've heard so far," Alex said, obviously hinting that she wanted to hear about it in more detail.

"Someone did get killed, Alex. Pyther's receptionist, Jangler," Aurelius said. Alicia's stomach sank as she thought about it. "Jacob's all right, though, Alicia, short of a bit of lost blood. Father must have gotten wind that something was up because apparently some of the local authorities showed up out at the research center while we were still trying to get to you."

"How does he always know so much?" Alicia growled with frustration. Aurelius and Alex shared a private smile.

"Why is it that you're always surprised when he does?" Ben asked out of the blue, and Alicia simply glared at him before sitting down to stab at her eggs.

"Because Alicia spent so many of her Hogwarts years angry at father that she never had the relationship with Professor Snape the rest of us had," Alex said.

"Oh shut up, you don't know what you're talking about," Alicia said irritably.

"Actually, I think this time she's right on the galleon," Aurelius said evenly. "That is exactly what this is about and it has been for years."

"I suppose it's too late to fix it now," Alex said, gazing thoughtfully at Aurelius, who simply shrugged.

"I don't know. He definitely hasn't been the same since he's been Headmaster, has he?" he said.

"Well he can't be any worse of a Headmaster than he was a teacher," Alicia snapped. "And I still don't understand how you all keep defending him like you do."

"Well, it's obvious it's not something we can help you with, Alicia," Aurelius said calmly, "so let's concentrate on things we can help you with. And the first thing I think needs to be done right after breakfast is for you to come riding with me."

"Riding? Now? But I just got back," Alicia protested.

"Don't you want to see Jule?" Aurelius asked quietly.

"Well, yes, of course I do, but can't it wait? Besides, you said we were going to have a talk, and I for one want some answers to some of the stuff that happened last night…"

"The fact that you would be willing to do anything else rather than go with me just proves that this can't wait," Aurelius said firmly, getting up. "It's your choice, of course, but I suggest you come along. I'm going either way." Alicia frowned at him as he went in the kitchen to refill his coffee cup and check the post.

"Alicia," Alex said softly, "if Rel thinks you should go now, I think you ought to go. I don't know what's really going on in your personal life and it's none of my business, but…don't make the same mistake Andrew and I did and have to say goodbye at a distance." Alicia gazed at her sister for a moment, a strange feeling coming over her. Ben in turn had noticed a curious change in Alex's expression and felt a sudden twinge of guilt.

"I'm sorry, Alex," Ben said quickly. Alex blinked at looked over at him, the look of loss turning into one of pure amusement.

"What are you sorry for? As I recall, it was my idea," she murmured with a grin. Alicia rolled her eyes. Aurelius came back in with letters and a newspaper in hand, glancing at the smug look between Alex and Ben before rolling his eyes as well.

"Alicia, letter from Jacob," Rel said, handing it to her.

"Wow, already? I'd expect it would have taken another day," Alicia said, eagerly opening it.

"Jamie probably dropped it off when she got back in. She stayed behind last night to help Jacob put up some basic security, not that he's likely to have more trouble once they realize you're not there anymore," Rel said.

"I hope not. I really don't think Jacob could handle it," Alicia said.

"Anyone foolish enough to invite a pack of vampires inside definitely deserves to be on the 'can't handle it' list," Aurelius agreed, ignoring the dirty look Alicia gave him as he finished distributing the mail and sorted out the one with the Hogwarts seal for himself. Quickly reading his father's note, Aurelius folded it back up and glanced over at Alicia, a flush in her cheeks as she sat absorbed in the letter. As she finished it, her expression turned troubled. Aurelius frowned at what he read behind her expressions, reminding himself that other than her safety it was none of his business. When she looked back up, he was finishing his coffee and standing once more.

"Staying or going, Alicia?" he asked again, forcing himself not to press any further.

"Going," Alicia said at last, putting away the letter. Aurelius relaxed slightly, nodding.

"Go get your cloak then. I need to send out a quick Owl then we can go," he said.

Alicia nodded and got up, lost in her own thoughts as she headed up the stairs and Aurelius went to the desk in the living room for paper.

"Worried?" Ben murmured to Alex softly when they were out of the room, pulling Alex out of a daze.

"A little," Alex admitted with a wan smile. "But at least she's in good hands now."

Severus was in the study killing time rather than actually working, glancing over Hermione's proposed list of fundraisers and debating whether any of them were really worth the hassle they'd cause. Reluctantly he checked off on two of them, debating taking one of them back off again before he was distracted by Descartes' loud cawing in greeting at Dodger who had just flown in the window.

"Quiet, you infernal bird," Severus said without any true animosity, taking the note from Dodger and reading it thoughtfully before glancing at his watch. He got up then and slipped in the sitting room door to find Jennifer buried in papers, a stack of six books at her side and one open in front of her. "I don't suppose you would care to go for a walk, Mrs. Snape?" he asked.

"A walk?" Jennifer repeated incredulously, barely looking up. "It's fine and well for you to offer, but between having to chaperone Hogsmeade yesterday and spending half the night worrying about what Alicia and the boys might have gotten themselves into, I still need to finish modifying these tests so I can start giving them out tomorrow."

"Yes, well, come with me now, and I promise I'll help you with that once we get back," he said. "Let's go spy on the children."

"What?" Jennifer said in surprise, gazing at him searchingly. "Well, why didn't you say so!" she exclaimed excitedly, taking his offered hand.

It had been many years since the last time the two have them had gone for a 'casual walk' to seek out the herd, despite the fact that Aurelius still had constant contact with them; his connection to the Forest was as strong as it had always been, if not stronger.

But even though she had come to realize that Aurelius was not likely to lose his bond from his own free will, Jennifer knew that her children's days following the herd were numbered. Two had lost their connection with them even before they had left the hallowed halls of the school, and Jennifer knew just as Aurelius did that Alicia's bond would soon come to an end. But Jennifer also knew if Alicia was truly ready for it that as hard it would be for her to let go, it wouldn't be anywhere near as hard as Alicia might fear. It was that moment that Jennifer found her thoughts dwelling on the most; the moment she climbed off Keki's back that night and realized that some things in life were more important.

It didn't take long to find them. It was clear and cold, and although the ground was hard with winter there was no snow, just a thin frost that made the ground glisten in the sunlight. Severus gently directed her behind a patch on conifer bushes as they neared the glen, partially concealing their presence as he spied a patch of something white on the far side of the clearing. A moment later the herd arrived, cantering into view with Pali and Aurelius leading the way. Pali's once broken horn had re-grown over time in a strange twisted pattern reminding Jennifer of a spiral staircase, and the stallion stood over a hand higher than the rest. Aurelius sat on him like a knight, sitting poised and relaxed as if he had born to be there. Perhaps he had, Jennifer thought with a private smile, for Keki's gift still ran strong in him despite his close call with losing it as a child.

There was a neigh from one of the mares next to Pali, and Aurelius turned, frowning, his eyes distant and strangely wild as he pierced through the woods to see his parents both standing there. Jennifer grimaced, wishing there were some better hiding place than where they had picked. But Pali simply bowed his head in recognition, and then Unicorn and Rider took a couple steps to the side to watch the rest of the herd come further out into the glen. It was then she saw Jule gallop into view with Alicia on her back, and for an instant Jennifer saw the girl she had known before entering Hogwarts; bright and cheerful and full of life, ready to take the world by storm. At that moment Alicia was intent to simply dominate the glen itself, her hands clutching onto Jule's mane tightly as they took a couple of playful jumps and whipped in and out of the trees as if there were nothing in their path.

Jennifer let out a long deep sigh and found an arm around her in response, for the sound had attracted Severus' attention and distracted him from his own thoughts.

"Where did the time go? They grew up so fast," Jennifer murmured, then got a mischievous smile on her face. "Quick, let's potion Lucky while we still can," she joked softly.

"I imagine Mr. Chance would have something to say about that in a few years if we did," Severus replied dryly. He then grew thoughtful as he watched Pali and Aurelius go over to Jule and they rode together towards the stream, slowing to a walk. "One of these days we really ought to commend them for getting this far having us as parents." Jennifer chuckled at that.

"They certainly didn't have what one might consider a normal childhood, did they?" she agreed, leaning into him.

"Neither did we, but I would argue we're stronger for it, and so are they," he said softly.

"Perhaps most of them are," Jennifer said, not really finishing her thought but knowing she didn't need to.

"Jennifer, what am I going to do with you?" Severus sighed in exasperation, causing her to look up at him. "Worrying yourself sick over her welfare last night might have been justified if not a little pointless. But right now your daughter is safe and within your sights and living in a moment she'll remember for the rest of her life. Leave tomorrow until it comes," he said, turning Jennifer's head back around as Alicia slipped off Jule's back with a loving embrace before pulling out her paints from her cloak. Jennifer chuckled at her daughter as she tried to coax the Unicorn to pose, shaking her head with a smile. Contenting herself to watch them play for a few minutes, Jennifer shelved her concerns for the present, promising herself to meddle that night to compensate.

Jennifer arrived at Baker Street that evening to find Corey and Alex sitting at the kitchen bar munching on an odd assortment of leftovers all spread out on the surface; eels, chips, pumpkin pie, oxtails, old scones, and pumpkin ice cream. Even cold pizza and a box of fried rice was thrown into the mix, while the two of them had apparently done with forks and no plates, helping themselves to whatever they felt like for a bite or two as they talked.

"Ugh, what are you doing?" Jennifer asked disapprovingly.

"Cleaning out the ice box, Mum," Alex said unconcernedly.

"I'm just helping," Corey said innocently.

"I can see that, although I'd expect such behavior from Andrew, not you," Jennifer tsked.

"Actually I came for Pyther, but I can't get the lock off," Corey explained.

"Oh, I bet Aurelius put on one of those Dead-or-alive bolts he got from work," Jennifer mused, and Corey nodded. "Well, it's after sundown and who knows how long Aurelius and Alicia will be gone."

"To be honest, I was rather hoping to get him out of here before the fact. He's got enough to sort out with losing his studio and another friend than to have to deal with…well whatever has been going on with Alicia," Corey said.

"You're right about that, and knowing Alicia she'd try to lay in on him the moment she saw him," Jennifer sighed, shaking her head in thought. "Well, I am going to talk to him at least, since he's going to need a friend right now. I think I'll use one of the tricks your father taught me when I was trying to keep him out of my hair."

Corey grabbed a spoonful of ice cream and followed Jennifer with interest as she went into the hall.

"Why don't you just slide the door over?" he suggested.

"I would but then the stairs wouldn't match. But don't worry, it's just padlocked on the one side, so this should work," Jennifer said, rummaging in her cloak and pulling out a doorknob and holding it up to the door.

"_Portalus reparo,_" she intoned, pointing it at the knob which then attached itself to the door and turned itself back and forth once on its own. She stepped back before pointing the wand at the knob again. "_Alohamora!_" she cast, the door straining to open until at last it popped off the hinges and swung open.

"Effective," Corey commented from the kitchen doorway. "A bit hard on the door, but effective. Just how many times has your sitting room door had to be replaced, Mom?"

"You have no idea," Jennifer muttered, Corey looking amused in response. "Give me a few minutes, Corey. I'll let him know that you're here."

"No rush, Mom, besides, I'm still hungry," he decided, ignoring the dirty look she gave him when he went back into the kitchen.

Jennifer slipped down the stairs as quietly as she could, half expecting to still find him hanging on the rafters somewhere. But Francis was already awake, sitting by the open door to the potion stove and staring inside at the flames, lost in thought.

"Good evening, Pyther," Jennifer said, but he didn't so much as jump as she stepped down the last stair. Rasputin hissed softly in apparent protest of being locked up, and Jennifer went over to the shelf to find his stoned kibble. "I hope I'm not bothering you."

"It doesn't really matter," Francis said quietly, not looking up. Jennifer gazed at him thoughtfully, filling Rasputin's bowl who hissed a complaint. But Jennifer ignored him, scratching him behind the edge of his eye patch before standing again.

"I have some more experiments to run. Severus has this wild idea to try and use one of the half a dozen paintings we have charmed to hold things to try and act as a vessel if we come up with a cure. He's been dabbling in spatial formulas lately so complex it even gives me a headache to look on them, so I got put in charge of trying to come up with a gas release for it instead. Still, I wonder how much of it is busy work, considering until we pinpoint the source any cure we might come up with would probably be temporary," Jennifer said, pulling some things off the shelf and gazing at him again to see if any of what she was saying was even registering. Sighing softly, she finally pulled up a chair and sat down across from him, trying to draw his eyes away from the fire. "I don't think I've ever seen you in so dark a mood," Jennifer sighed, putting her hand on his. "It's going to be all right, Pyther." Francis finally looked at her with a cold, critical stare.

"How exactly, might I ask, do you think that anything is ever going to be all right?" he asked bluntly. Jennifer smiled gently.

"Well for starters, Corey and his friends have been busy all day putting the basement of his house in order for some temporary quarters. It's larger and a lot more comfortable than sleeping in a lab, I'm sure," she said, but his expression never changed. "Not only that, but they also went to your studio in Stanley and your southern residence and liberated what stuff you had there, so hopefully you'll feel more at home."

"Doesn't Corey have small children?" he asked.

"Children who have done nothing but heard fond stories of you from Corey since they were born," Jennifer said.

"And they'd be put in danger the moment the clan found out where I've been holed up," Francis pointed out.

"And if they did manage to track you down, Corey can dish it out with the best of them and has his friends at his beckon call with that flare gun of his," Jennifer said firmly. "Not to mention having the entire town of Hogsmeade ready to defend if necessary if they are foolish enough to try and press the issue."

"And what does your husband think of all this?" Francis asked with a frown.

"Well, if it were up to Severus, he probably would have immediately gotten you settled in the Memoritorium at Hogwarts and belay this altogether," Jennifer admitted, Francis gazing at her dubiously. "Things being as they are with the board, that wasn't possible, not to mention the fact that a bit of lay low period will keep your clan from coming down on the school if they might had we had moved you right away. In any case, you'll be safe at Corey's to rest and try to sort out what you want to do."

"Since when does what I want matter?" Francis snapped. "I've been nothing but chased, carted, coaxed, pushed, and starved into every situation I've been in for my entire afterlife."

"It matters to a lot of people, Francis," Jennifer sighed. "It matters to Alicia, it matters to Corey, it matters to me, and even though you'd never get him to admit it directly, it matters to Severus too."

"I highly doubt that."

"And it also matters to Rosmerta and the rest of Hogsmeade, who even now consider you a part of their town as you ever were," Jennifer added fervently. Francis fell back into silence, brooding over the fire. "I know you're reeling from losing your friend," she said quietly, "and I know you're blaming yourself for what happened, but it wasn't your fault…"

"It was my fault," Francis murmured, shaking his head. "It was my fault on so many levels I can't bear it. I should never have allowed Hogsmeade to keep supplying me when I left and allowed you to track me down. I should never have stayed in Polaris Town knowing Alicia was so close. And I definitely shouldn't have allowed myself to send any letters, let alone make any sort of contact with her, and certainly I shouldn't have been foolish enough to go into an area that was bound to be someone's territory…and doing every action knowing full well that nothing good could ever come of it. And now I have yet another studio destroyed and another person I entrusted with my life and business is dead to show for it."

"That's right, I remember now, Madame Priscilla died in the fire when Baylor burnt down the Hogsmeade shop," Jennifer murmured.

"I should have died in that blaze," Francis said bitterly.

"Now you're starting to sound like Severus," Jennifer said dryly, but then pondered it a moment. "So really, it seems to me it's Alicia's fault," she decided, Francis gazing at her in surprise. "For saving you then."

"It was my fault for allowing us to exchange paintings after that…"

"Yes, but that wouldn't have happened, would it have?" Jennifer pressed thoughtfully, then paused. "Then again, perhaps it's Anna and Aurora Sinistra's fault. I mean, for saving you from the Leanan Sidhe, especially if, as you say, that's what got the two of you entangled in the first place," she decided, and then paused. "Then again, perhaps it's Hogsmeade's fault for picking you off the ground those first few weeks when you collapsed from starvation. They should have left you to sun roast."

"It wasn't in Hogsmeade. It was in Northern France after I tried to flee Germany. It was Nicholas Flammel," Francis said quietly. Jennifer gazed into his distant memories of the old alchemist for a moment before nodding.

"Very well, it was Nicholas' fault," Jennifer said, "Since he was the one who first saved you."

"He wasn't," Francis said expressionlessly. "It was my father, whose death I am ultimately responsible for."

"You again? How is that?" Jennifer frowned.

"For blundering into that vampire raid in the first place," Francis brooded. "We were on the way east, heading towards Ottoman territory…father wanted to study some of the architecture so he picked up a commission to do some portraits for a wizard family out there, but first he wanted to stop by Hamlin again. The countryside at that time was rather war torn by a lot of quarrelling factions…being painters, we pretty much were able to stay out of the middle of it. But such conflicts tend to breed…well, scavengers, I suppose…and what was then a very small vampire pack began to launch raids on the countryside to 'recruit' new clansman, for unbeknownst to wizard and non-wizard folk at the time, the vampires were preparing to do war with each other, having their own territorial battle just as surely as the living were.

"As they descended on a small village where we were spending the evening, I was terrorized by the sight of a dozen of Rafe's vampires, and many of them witches and wizards themselves, pouncing on the unsuspecting and dragging them off. Father had bade me to get down and find cover as he sought a window to cast out of, but I ran outside in a panic and was a accosted from behind. I was able to scramble away and began to run rather than turn and fight as probably I should have. I can't say I was in my senses; the strong fear in the air made me bolt into the dense woods beyond the town, convinced the cover would save me. I didn't know then that vampires could smell fear as surely as they could cause it, and I was soon added to those they made victims of." Francis looked down a moment. "During such raids, the young clan had but a single rule; convert everyone, then destroy the undesirables 'ere the next sunset. They staked some…burned some…and some were tied and put to the sun. Deciding I was too much of a coward to be anything more than a servant were I allowed to live out my undead existence, they put me to the sun knowing I could charm my way out of a burning. I'm sure later they realized they should have staked me then and there, for my father had been able to hold off until the raid was done and came after me and managed to untie me. It was then I first experienced the cave in Hamlin, for it was the only place my father knew would be safe for me to hide. Never once did he seem to consider what it was he was saving, perhaps he should have."

"He was saving his son, Francis," Jennifer said softly.

"And because of it, it cost him his life," Francis murmured. "For the clan rules clearly state that any vampire claimed by them that survives their first passing daylight will be brethren and treated as such, and somehow I think father knew that. Rafe was furious when he found out I had survived, but he couldn't do anything to me, so he hunted my father down and killed him, ripping him open with that dagger of his so his most loyal could feast on him. That is when I fled…despising every day that I had to cower in whatever cave, hole, or bird coop I could find, fearing every night spent in hunger, terrified of the idea of quenching it, wishing I could just let the dawn take me. But every time I mustered the courage to be rid the world of myself, my cowardice would take hold and I'd find myself running for cover, never quite willing to die despite the fact I couldn't ever live."

"But then you ran into Nicholas," Jennifer prompted, when the silence got too heavy to bear.

"Rather I think he tripped over me," Francis said bitterly. "I don't remember much about those first few days, only he had given me a sort of modified animal blood…it left me weak, but strong enough to endure. Apparently he had lost a son just a few months before I arrived and somehow I became a bit of a surrogate for him, and he became like a second father. And, I think he was also a bit of an opportunist as well; he was fascinated by vampires and all the legends of how the curse began…really, he was fascinated with any magic powerful enough to suspend life or death in any way…well, I hardly need to tell you that, all things considering," he said, and Jennifer merely nodded with a grin. "In he course of pokes and prods, he got out of me that I was originally from Norman country and had gone to Hogwarts. And so it came out that he himself had been debating moving back up there and asked me to come along. The rest you know already, I think, because after we came to Hogsmeade I happened along three sibling witch and wizards who decided the town needed a 'cleaner' inn than the Hog's Head and offered to set up the first blood donation drive in Scottish history. You can look it up if you don't believe me," he added dryly.

"I don't doubt it for an instant," Jennifer said.

"Yes, and I've been taking advantage of that one act of kindness ever since," Francis said, falling into a brood again.

"I hardly think it taking advantage, considering all the years you've given of your talents in exchange," Jennifer chided him. "Hogwarts certainly wouldn't be the same without them. Your paintings have been such a comfort to me, from the one Severus bought me to ease my claustrophobia in the Potion Lab, to that night I thought Severus had died saving the school…" her voice trailed off, until she saw Francis gazing at her, puzzled. "The painting stayed muted even when my Dragonheart Diamond broke. What a horrible night that was! But it was the painting that gave me hope, Pyther. Your time on this planet has hardly been a waste…no matter whose fault it was, even if we follow this silly path to the inevitable and blame your parents for having you in the first place. And I, as a parent, can tell you that's not something I would have given up for anything, even at the cost of my own life."

"I envy you, Jennifer," Francis said after a moment, turning back to the flames. "Both for being able to be a parent as well as just the ability to be in a lasting relationship…something it's high time I realized isn't possible for me."

"She still loves you, Pyther," Jennifer whispered.

"Sometimes that isn't enough, Jennifer," Francis said firmly, standing up and pacing. "Love is nothing without life, and I have no life to give her. I'm doing nothing but putting her in constant danger by being around her and that I can't have. I'm not seeing her anymore. It isn't worth it for either of us. As soon as I'm on my feet again and I can get my painting back, I'm going to disappear so far she'll never find me. Besides, she really is better off without me," he said with complete resolution, but then stopped short when he realized that Jennifer was softly chuckling to herself. "What?"

"It won't work," Jennifer said with knowing smile.

"The painting hasn't failed me before…"

"I don't mean that, necessarily…although I must point out that only stops her from using a painting, not from finding you by port, Apparating, on foot or on her knees. Well, I've been in a similar situation as this, Pyther, believe it or not. I tried leaving Severus because of how much danger I was putting him in, and I'm warning you right now that if you run, it'll be like pulling on a rubber band. The harder you pull, the faster and harder that band is going to snap back," Jennifer said.

"Yes, well, rubber bands have a breaking point, and so do I," Francis said, a flash of anger in his eyes before storming up the stairs. Jennifer sighed and shook her head, then paused to sort through a few ingredients before cautiously stepping up the stairs just in time to see Corey and Francis on their way out the front door. Taking a moment to say goodbye to Alex, Jennifer headed back to Hogwarts.

The staircases, it seemed, were waiting for her on arrival. Sheepishly, she went up to find the door of the Headmaster's Study open and Severus raising his brows at her from behind his glasses and frowning over the edge of the book he was reading.

"Meddling again, are we?" he asked, gazing at her fixedly.

"Of course not. I just went home to run some tests on those timed gaseous potions," Jennifer explained.

"Good. Where are your test phials, then?" he asked. Jennifer grimaced. "So, how is he?"

"Devastated, absolutely miserable," Jennifer said aggrieved, sitting in her favorite chair to try and settle herself. "I've never seen him like this. He's so depressed right now he makes Icarus look jolly, and he's completely blaming himself for the whole mess."

"Well, isn't it his fault, in a way?" Severus asked calmly.

"Now, don't you start too," Jennifer frowned at him. "It's not his vault he's a victim of vampirism any more than it's his fault that fate is a very cruel mistress as far as he's concerned." Severus squinted at her.

"You know what my thoughts on the existence of fate is, Jennifer."

"Yes I do, and they contradict one another constantly," Jennifer said bluntly, getting a dirty look in response. "I mean, what is a cosmic match by definition but a couple fated to be together?"

"I tend to think of it as simply meaning two people whom are extremely compatible," Severus said evenly, earning a dirty look of his own. "Now, how about we mind our own business and check my alchemist notation on that formula for the paintings." Jennifer took it out of his hand, staring at it without seeing it for a moment.

"I was able to get him talking some," Jennifer said. Severus sighed. "About becoming a vampire in the first place. At least he is still willing to open up to some extent, although he did leave in a frightful mood."

"Frightful or frightened?" Severus retorted, pointing her towards the formula. But Jennifer ignored the joke, tilting her head as if considering it.

"Both, I think," she said at last. "He's decided he's never going to see her again because it's too dangerous."

"Oh, yes, that will work," Severus said sarcastically.

"I tried to warn him it wouldn't, but of course he didn't listen," Jennifer said, leaning her head against the side of the chair, looking depressed. "But just as I know they won't be able to stay apart, how can they possibly stay together? It's breaking my heart to watch what they're going through…"

"Then perhaps you shouldn't watch," Severus said testily.

"Oh, stop it, you're as worried as I am," Jennifer frowned at him.

"We still have work to do, Jennifer, and I for one would like some of these tests done before we head home for Yule. Besides, we're in the study, and you're supposed to be behaving professionally…"

"Well it isn't as if any of this experimentation for a cure will matter until we find out what's causing it, Severus…" Jennifer said distractedly. "Even if we find something that'd clear the paintings, it'll just crop up again."

"Then how about going over that stack of books over there and see if you notice anything I overlooked that could be causing it. You're the items expert after all, Professor Craw," he frowned sternly at her, then glanced over his book again. "I feel as if we're missing something obvious, somehow." But as he glanced over his book and tried to concentrate, it suddenly got too quiet. Sighing, he took off his glasses and gazed at Jennifer, who seemed to be lost in her thoughts with a troubled expression on her face.

"What is it?" he asked quietly. Jennifer glanced up, and then grimaced apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Severus," Jennifer said. "I know I shouldn't dwell on it. I just can't help but wonder what we would have done had you…had we been in this position ourselves?"

"Yes. I admit that I've been wondering that a lot myself," Severus murmured. "You know, I doubt Pyther will be in tonight. You should get some rest. You have tests to give tomorrow."

"I do," Jennifer agreed with a sigh, getting up. "Are you going to be much longer?"

"I'll be along presently," he promised.

"Good, because I don't feel much like being alone tonight," Jennifer admitted. "I'm going to go pamper Ratfly for awhile." Severus watched her go, realizing that somehow her depression seemed to dampen the whole room. He got up as the curtain fell across the door and went over to the bookshelf to grab an ancient tome, opening it to the bookmark he had placed there, reading it over once more to find hope in a passage that hadn't any. Sighing softly he put it back and cleaned up his desk, knowing that despite everything school business would soon need his undivided attention.


	29. How Snape Nails the Board

Chapter Twenty-Nine

How Snape Nails the Board

With the exception of the reappearance of Dumbledore, the Fifth House spent the entire weekend studying for their upcoming tests, oblivious of anything else interesting happening in the outside world. With Ambrose's report checked over and turned into Snape without so much as a comment other than suggesting he should go study, Ambrose dove into his work, pausing only now and then to ask Lucky a question on potion formulas or listen as Laura explained something to Lucky and Connie on their Transfiguration review.

A good night's rest was not to be had by anyone, or so they thought; they were pleasantly surprised when Mr. Carnegie's horn didn't sound until half an hour before breakfast.

"Well, either our good caretaker decided to sleep in today or the Professor wants to make sure we've gotten enough sleep so that we can't use it as an excuse," Terrence joked as he and Ambrose got dressed to go downstairs.

"Or he could just have decided to be nice," Ambrose suggested, fussing with his shoes. Terrence only thought about it for half a second.

"Nope, not likely," he said with a grin, opening the door for Ambrose and following him out. "All right, everyone! Nobody skips breakfast today! Come on! You too, Delia!"

"What is this, our last meal before execution?" she complained with a scowl, getting up off the couch.

"That's one way to put it," Terrence said.

"Look at it this way, Delia," Lindsay said. "The sooner we get it done, the closer we get to heading home for the holidays."

"Yes, that's when the executions happen," Delia said darkly.

"Just do your best, Delia, it'll be fine," Terrence said. "You don't hear Ambrose complaining, do you?"

"That's because he's been getting tutored," Delia said.

"He has not. He's only been studying with friends," Lindsay defended him.

"All right, enough all ready! Someone get the door," Terrence said as he called up to the dorms to try and get everyone moving.

"I'll get it, I'll get it!" Ambrose said excitedly, running up and opening the door wide so he could get to the Sensor Hand on the other side. "Gimme some skin, hand man!" he said, then as everyone stared he did a complicated ritual of hand slaps, hand shakes, thumb hooking, high fives and low fives, ending in a firm hand shake. Ambrose bowed to the hand who then gave him a thumbs up, then looked back at his fellow Hufflepuffs who were all standing behind them with their mouths open. "I really like that door," Ambrose declared contentedly, leading the way.

In the Great Hall, the table was laid out more like a feast than for breakfast, with a smidgen of everything from eggs and toast to pastries, and even a token amount of apples, fish and other 'mind' foods rounding it out. Ambrose tried a little of everything but knew he had to hurry since Potions started early, running up the stairs and into his seat beside Lucky, who was already in place with a coffee cup in her hand.

"Does that help?" he murmured with a grin.

"Don't hurt," Lucky murmured back. "Getting some?"

"Can't stand it," he admitted, still grinning, looking back at Connie and wishing her good luck. Lucky did the same.

"All right, everyone, get settled," Jennifer said as she stepped into the room with a stack of papers in hand. "If you're getting coffee, get it now, you're not to be getting up during the test, thank you. Everyone hand that last review homework up to the front, then we'll start. You'll be only staying a regular period today, but don't worry if you're not able to finish, just take your time and do your best," she said, watching to make sure everyone passed up their homework. "Oh, one last announcement, and don't be surprised if you hear it again," Jennifer said, pausing momentarily to pick up the homework in her off hand and sticking it on her desk. "We're not going to be posting your scores on the door this year, so um…no need to check back," she said as a murmur of surprise went up and several looked more than a little concerned. "I know we still have a few days left to bump into each other in the halls, but if I don't see you, have a good holiday."

"But, when are we going to get our marks then, Professor Craw?" Delia asked with a frown.

"When your report cards get come through the Owls, I imagine," Jennifer said.

"But we won't know what to prepare for when our parents see them!" Delia protested again, horrified. Jennifer gazed at her sternly.

"Delia, if you can't tell what classes are passing and what ones you need to be worried about at this point, you probably need parental intervention," Jennifer said bluntly. "Last warning, quiet now, the sooner you come to order the sooner we call all get this thing over with."

Lucky took her test with a resigned sigh, while Ambrose took his in anticipation. Jennifer spent most of the first half of the test scanning each individual face, making sure no one had any intentions of cheating. Most of the students seemed as stressed as they had been all year; only Ambrose seemed calm and collected, while Lucky, it seemed, skipped right to the math part first, and Connie was doing what she could to avoid it. Her eyes wandered towards the wall behind them and immediately wished they hadn't, gazing at the half finished portraits of Pyther and Alicia for a long time before she saw movement and looked down to see Ambrose looking at her. At first she thought he had a question, but quick scrutiny revealed that he was done…and ten minutes early at that. Motioning him up, she took it, staring so hard at it after he left that she almost forgot to call her class off early.

"It was the same thing in all of my classes too," Reggie said when Lucky and Connie sat down to lunch. "No marks posted, have a good holiday. What are we supposed to do that last day before we go back home, I ask you? I'll have all but one of my tests done by then, and that's Madame Black's class, and she already warned us it'd be an essay question."

"After what we've just been through this semester, you could try sitting back and enjoying it," Tim said.

"Yeah, because once our father sees my marks, I won't be sitting again for awhile," Reggie said ruefully. "How about you, Connie, how deep are you in for?"

"I'm not even going to hazard a guess," Connie sighed. "But I think I did okay."

"I won't guess. I don't have Transfiguration until tomorrow," Lucky said darkly.

"At least we all know whose going to ace their Arithmantics course," Tim said to cheer her up.

"Right, true," Lucky agreed smugly. Sure, her marks wouldn't be perfect, but at least she'd made a good effort in studying. Perhaps she'd even squeak a pass on her Defense, she mused, looking over it one last time.

"I wonder how the others are doing?" Connie murmured to her.

"Maybe we ought to ask everyone to send us a note when they get back and see how many death warrants are out," Lucky agreed. Connie grinned at her.

"I'll get the word out then," Connie said with a grin before opening her history book.

Lucky turned in her Transfiguration test half finished and squeaked her last Defense question in just after Professor Tonks had called time, and the rest she decided she had come out somewhere in the middle. But it had been difficult not to linger in Tangent's class after she had finished early, hoping he would go ahead and mark it, because she was almost certain it was her one and only perfect score. But even though he looked it over, he simply smiled enigmatically at her and waved her towards the door, leaving Lucky to appreciate just how annoying it was not knowing.

The last day before they were to go back, Lucky was one of the 'lucky' ones that had no tests left. She wandered to breakfast and took her time for a change, but something seemed missing, and she wasn't quite sure what. She spent the morning packing, went to lunch, and then was near the library when she realized that there was an unusual lack of staff presence anywhere. In fact, not one had she seen all day. Still, some had classes, but even considering that, there was usually one or two lingering in the halls or around the Great Hall during meal times, even if it was to wander through on their way to the staff room. Curious now, she backtracked to the main classrooms to find all the ones that were done with class were shut tight. Transfiguration, Defense…apparently there was still one left to go in Charms, she mused, seeing a few seventh years sitting from the crack in the door. But most of the ones still testing seemed to me minor subjects…Divination, Muggle Studies, and so on. She shook her head, finding herself wondering now if the scores weren't so low they were busy doctoring the marks a bit. As she wandered back through to the staircase, she found herself stopping at the Potion Room door, finding it shut as well. She stood there for a moment, contemplating until her curiosity got the better of her. But just as she got up enough nerve to try breaking in and started to crack her knuckles, her elbow landed on someone standing right behind her.

"Don't even consider it, Miss Snape," Severus warned her, a dangerous flash in his dark eyes when she turned to look at him. Chuckling nervously at him, Lucky decided that silence and a quick retreat down the steps was the best course of action.

That evening Hermione met up with Jennifer and had a few words before the two of them hurried towards the Headmaster's Study.

"Are you going to tell him?" Hermione asked.

"No, no, not before the board meeting…he has enough on his shoulders right now," Jennifer hissed at her. "With any luck we can get rid of him quick and I can get back down to Sagitarri's office to sit with Ben before Alex delivers. The coach just dropped them off here a few minutes ago."

"Who's picking up Lucky?"

"Aurelius and Alicia, not that Alicia is a willing party, but Rel hasn't let her out of his sight lately," Jennifer explained. "Not since Pyther left her that letter."

"Is she that bad?" Hermione frowned.

"She does have her Snape moments," Jennifer explained so dryly that Hermione had to force herself from smiling as they headed up the spiral staircase.

They found him standing behind his desk in his best robes, sorting out his notes. He glanced up as they came in and held out his hand, Hermione promptly handing him a scroll, which he took a moment to look over thoughtfully.

"Did everything go out on time?" he asked.

"Exactly as ordered, although the postmaster was a little put out once he saw the size of the packages that needed delivered," Hermione said with a smirk.

"Not as put out as when his first assistant will be when he sees his daughter's marks," Severus said, frowning at Delia's scores on the scroll before glancing over a couple more, comparing them. He paused a moment, studying them carefully until finally he grabbed a quill and put an x near the Fifth House names. "Just in case it comes up," was all he would say to Hermione's raised eyebrows. Jennifer simply smiled at him as he rolled up the scroll and tucked it away, taking off his glasses and cuffing his sleeves. "So?" Severus asked his wife guardedly.

"You look fine, Severus, the handsomest Headmaster the school has ever had," Jennifer said proudly. A loud guffaw sounded behind them, and the three looked over to see Caprica quickly covering her mouth.

"She's entitled to her opinion," Severus snapped at the painting.

"Sorry, boss. Knock 'em dead, as I've heard them say," Caprica winked.

"Thank you, but I hardly think that will be necessary…tempting, perhaps," Severus added under his breath, earning a grin from Jennifer and Hermione both. "Try to stay out of trouble while I'm gone?"

"Don't worry about us. You just worry about that horrid Coventry woman," Jennifer said.

"That horrid Coventry woman had better worry more about me," Severus said as they walked out of the Study and down the stairs. The moment he was out the gate, the two women glanced at each other and Jennifer went diving for Sagitarri's hut.

"Hey wait! That's not fair!" Hermione shouted after her with a chuckle, knowing there was no way she would be able to keep up still carrying an eight-month kicker, hurriedly walking after her to join the welcoming committee.

Dealing with the board was finally becoming old hat to Headmaster Snape, not that it hadn't had its ups and downs; namely caused by the politics of the board itself as members began to shift around. For, unlike Dumbledore who had support from both of the main views on the board, Snape found that his lay solely on the reformists, where the traditionalists, alarmed by the amount of changes he had wanted to make from the very beginning, were extremely difficult to convince even in the smallest of requests. But Severus tended to excel best when he was challenged, and as he won each hard fought victory by using logic (and sometimes a bit of withheld information), the powerhouse eight traditionalists began to leave, and despite the remainder's valiant attempts, slowly reformists started to take their place.

The most uncomfortable year happened a year before, when the board was even at six to six and nothing seemed to get done. It was the meeting just before the holiday break…the same time of the year, in fact, that Severus was facing now and the one that set the tone for the second half of the term…that Severus first presented the entry exam and marks for Ambrose Bailey. To say it had been volatile had been an understatement, and the only thing they seemed singularly to agree on was the fact that should have brought to them sooner, and Severus' claims of ignorance to him sneaking in the school in the first place was met with utmost suspicion. It had been Dalance, not Shea, who had called the board back to order, attempting to restore some sort of semblance while offering Severus his support in the matter; citing the references Severus had brought from Ambroses' teachers as the reason. It was easy to understand the quick backing of Severus' decision, for Erik had been privy to something none of the others had; the identity of Ambrose's father. So it was then, even as Sebastian threatened to step down in the heat of the debate, that Severus realized the only way to get Ambrose safely through what lay ahead was for Erik to retake the Chairman seat. To his credit, Erik seemed to realize it himself; for in the same debate in which he had attempted to subdue a moment before, he suddenly turned into an instigator. Severus quickly jumped in, and when the smoke cleared, somehow had not only managed to keep Ambrose in school for the rest of the term, but it had been made quite clear by Sebastian that he was not likely to stay on another year.

In many ways, it was regrettable. Sebastian was a reformist and had been a good defender on Severus' policies from time to time, even though he had often expressed concern about the rapid pace on which Severus tended to change things. But politics even in such microscopic scale was never bloodless. Sebastian had wanted to retire not only from the board but his position at West of Whitehall for some time, and cutting one more tie would make it easier for him to do so. His wife, Caitlyn, had decided to stay on but had no desire in the Chairman position itself. As the traditionalists debated on who to support, Severus pounced, and some heated wheeling and dealing (that put Balmweed back as Vice Chair, the only traditionalist on the board that seemed to have even a grudging respect for Severus' policies) and even some bribery and blackmail that Severus wasn't all that proud of, Erik retook his position. Yet it had come at a steep price, for not only had it left an empty seat (filled by Coventry's wife, another traditionalist), but Caitlyn, who had always voted with her husband's views, suddenly began to vote traditionalist now that she was on her own.

Even as the traditionalists gained the majority again, Severus at least took heart that they would not go against their earlier decision and take Ambrose out of school. He should have been a bit more cautious, perhaps…more ready to act when they voted for that abhorrent list of recommended books. It was then he had realized that the fight over one student had reached unheard of extremes, affecting the school in ways he couldn't allow. It was time…past time…to get things back on track, but this time he had all the cards.

Standing by the door, Harold Gimler was boredly reading when Severus arrived, but he immediately became alert as his approach.

"Still quiet I see," Severus said in a low voice.

"Not that I doubt your word, sir, but I thought you said there would be a row out here by now?" he asked.

"It'll be here," Severus said unconcernedly. "Is that today's paper?"

"Yes, pity it was late today, wasn't it?" Harold said, a question in his voice.

"You'll keep your suppositions to yourself, thank you, just don't forget what you're supposed to do," Severus said in a low voice.

"Don't worry about that. I owed you one after that mess you pulled me out of my last year at Hogwarts," Harold said with a smile before opening the door for him.

"If this works you can consider us even," Severus told him before stepping into the room to find the rest of the board already assembled and chatting casually between themselves.

"Good evening, Severus," Erik greeted with a warm smile, followed by similar greetings from Norman Balmweed, Caitlyn Shea, and Abraxus. Most of the others simply nodded, while Regina merely gazed at him as if looking for something to criticize in his appearance. "Right on time as usual, I see," he said, walking over to his seat.

"I do my best," Severus said solemnly as the rest took their places.

"Any preference where to start this month, or shall we go in order?" Erik asked, glancing at the agenda.

"Actually, yes, I do have a preference," Severus said. Erik looked up with interest, for Severus didn't often seem to have a preference about anything except for getting out of the meetings as quickly as possible. "I was wondering about that proposal I sent last week on exchanging the second year book for one that's more accurate."

"Ah yes!" Norman immediately reacted, Erik looking slightly amused. The ex-Equinox had long had a passion for any sort of history. "I'd like to talk about that as well, Erik. That report you sent was rather intriguing, Severus. Although I always thought you preferred a more statistical style of study."

"It definitely wasn't analytical," Caitlyn put in. "And it didn't contain the normal argumentative form I'd expect, especially considering your request. A younger staff member wrote it, perhaps?"

"I never said I wrote it, Caitlyn, simply that I endorsed it. And I believe by virtue of how many discrepancies there are proves to be enough of an argument in and of itself to request different material," Severus said. "However, I admit I would be in favor of having the work published, were I to get the board's support for the paper."

"I'm not sure I could support a paper that relies on ghost accounts, Severus," Norman said.

"Only the interviews of the first three hundred years are ghost accounts, Mr. Balmweed, and if you've looked over the research notes, you'll see that the majority of their claims were cross-referenced and substantiated by other means as well. As for the first hand accounts after the fact, a great deal of the corrections were made by Mr. Pyther, which of course you can dispute since he is legally dead, however I do believe you may have a fight with the Non-human Rights commission for it…"

"It isn't really Mr. Pyther's interviews we're concerned with, Severus," Erik reassured him. "But most of the board members are a little…uncomfortable…with one particular section of the earlier history."

"Very well, that is?" Severus prompted expressionlessly.

"The one about Salazar Slytherin, Severus," Norman said, putting on his glasses and turning the page with a frown. "This passage that claims that not only did he murder one of the founder's first staff members, but he himself was murdered for that very act by one of the founding apprentices."

"And which part of that are you having trouble swallowing, Norman?" Severus asked.

"All of it, to be frank," Norman said in annoyance. "That is a lot of supposition based on the testimony of one ghost who has a reputation for not always being in his right mind." A sudden flash of anger appeared in Severus' eyes.

"May I remind you, Norman, that said ghost has been a member of the school's staff since before I was Headmaster at Hogwarts, and despite Ravenclaw's temperament has been nothing but a capable and dependable teacher? Not to mention the fact that he also served as Warden of Azkaban quite efficiently when no man could have done the job. I see no reason for him to deserve such an attack on his character, especially since judging temperament has no bearing in this particular matter," Severus said firmly. "As for Salazar murdering a member of staff, that I can prove myself, for I was in the room where the victim's remains were found. And since the only one who had successfully traversed that room since Salazar's 'disappearance' until Potter was in the school was Voldemort, and the remains were much to old for it to have been caused by him, I can say for a fact there is a lot of hard evidence to support Professor Ravenclaw's claim."

"All the same, Severus," Abraxus broke in, "the official record has always stated that Slytherin left the school, you see. I'm not sure how receptive the outside world would be to a ghost professor who has claimed to have killed one of the founders of the school, and it would do a great deal of damage to undermine one of the houses that has been under great scrutiny over the years. As a fellow Slytherin, surely you can't allow that."

"I'm a Hogwarts Professor, first and foremost, Abraxus," Severus said, but the anger had left his voice as he too began to ponder its effect on the current house.

"Even saying so, Severus," Erik said quietly. "Surely you see that releasing such information may upset the delicate balance between the houses…and a house system that has worked quite efficiently for well over a thousand years."

"There are some who would disagree," Severus said calmly, but nodded. "But it is perhaps best left for another discussion, or perhaps…a theoretical paper on the subject down the line?"

"Perhaps," Erik said, after glancing at Norman who had nodded as well. "But if you plan to go ahead and submit this particular paper for publication, that section must be edited out."

"If it will get me the board's endorsement on the project, I shall be more than happy to make certain it's done," Severus said solemnly. "Especially if it helps further my own protest about the book itself."

"One thing at a time, Severus," Erik said, smiling wryly at him. "A show of hands on endorsing the article?" As Abraxus hand went up, so did Regina's, while the rest followed suit when both Erik and Norman, the two leaders of the opposing groups, approved of it as well. "Very well, onto the discussion of having the book replaced. Abraxus, since you led the recommendations committee, your thoughts?"

Severus began to listen to him ramble but paused when he heard a low murmur outside the door. Nodding to himself, he turned back to the conversation at hand.

"You have a point, Abraxus, although I do agree with Severus that they need to be changed, it would be rather awkward doing so in the middle of the term like this, not to mention parent expenses of having to get new books," Norman said.

"It's only one book, Norman," Erik said. "How bad would that change our goals for this year, Severus…goodness, what is that noise?" he asked with irritation, for it had suddenly gotten even louder outside the doors. Suddenly, Gimler poked his head in the door, looking around.

"Some of the parents would like to speak with you sir, should I show them in?" Gimler asked brightly, looking first at Severus, who shook his head slightly with a frown.

"Whatever they want can wait until after the meeting," Erik decided, but hadn't missed the exchange, wondering what Severus was up to.

"Yes, sir," Gimler said, glancing at Severus before disappearing again.

"What I was trying to ask, Severus, was if it might be better to simply wait until the end of the year to replace the book," Erik finished.

"It wouldn't be too much trouble to do it now, Erik," Severus said calmly. "We keep copies of old material and tests going back several years for reference…"

"If I may," Regina interrupted, gazing at Severus admonishingly. "Going back to the old tests would defeat the entire point of changing the books in the first place, since the reason that we did so was to keep the students challenged and raise the school's standards to an acceptable level."

"Yes, that's true. We would have to go back and make new recommendations," Abraxus said. "Can't you just use the books and, you know, work around the bad parts?"

"Possibly, however, if we tried to work around the 'bad parts' of all the material given to us on that recommendation list, we wouldn't be working with any books at all," Severus said.

"I thought we were only discussing the one book, weren't we Severus?" Erik said, absolutely convinced now that Severus was indeed up to something.

"Of course, Chairman," Severus said solemnly. "I am certain that Professor Scribe would be open to alternatives. In fact, being that history is her expertise, I'm sure she would be more than happy to provide you a list of her own recommendations that you may look over to help speed up the process…"

"Yes, I'm sure, then before you know it we'll be back to the same standard that Hogwarts had before, lax and complacent," Regina said.

"You know, for someone who considers herself a traditionalist, you certainly seem very much in favor of reform," Severus said calmly, noticing Regina bristle in response. "In fact, all of you do."

"We simply want to restore the same high standards that Hogwarts has seen in the past, Severus," Abraxus protested.

"I am in favor of that myself, Abraxus, but perhaps you can enlighten me as to exactly when our standards began to slip?" Severus asked, glancing at his watch. "Perhaps if I knew that in greater detail, I could go back and assess what changes we had put into place at that point and correct them."

"I believe it was more of a gradual decline, Severus, rather than just one thing," Abraxus said uncomfortably.

"Perhaps it started with that OWL revision," Norman mused. Erik frowned at him.

"Norman, I know you never liked that revision, but I thought all the acclaim that team got for redoing them worldwide might have quelled your grudge on it."

"It seemed like a good time to say 'I told you so,'" Norman mused.

"Really? Because I have another theory as to when this 'slip' in standards supposedly happened, Norman, and it was much more recent than that," Severus said in such a change of tone that Erik wondered if a dam was about to break. "It was when a very clever and very remarkable seven year old 'slipped' into Hogwarts and proved to himself and everyone including myself that he belonged there. For that reason and that reason alone did this board decide our standards weren't what they should be, and were willing to risk not only the reputation of the school but the welfare of the entire student body just to spite a single child who did nothing to deserve the attack any more than the school itself did. What is it that scares you about him to go to such lengths? Perhaps you just don't like the fact that your children may seem 'average' compared to him? Well, then I have a surprise for you…all of you," he said, glancing at Erik as well. "And that is that up until this school year, since practically the day he was born, I have been doing everything in my power to hold this boy back so he could have a chance to mature naturally. He is, in fact, capable of much more than you saw last year when I had my thumb on him."

A look of alarm and open concern appeared on Erik's face that made even Norman wonder about it before gazing at Severus, looking for answers to what might have caused it.

"Oh, come now, Severus," Regina snorted. "Whatever you may have everyone else believing, I know very well you and your staff have been tutoring him all year."

"Spoken like someone who has no idea just how little time I have," Severus said.

"You also have a licensed Time Turner," she pointed out. "And I happen to know that Mr. Bailey spends a great many hours out of sight in the back room of the library."

"He was put there by Librarian Boulderdash because he and his friends talked too much while 'studying' in the library," Severus said bluntly. As to my schedule…" he said, getting in his cloak and pulling out a huge book and slamming it on the table. "My appointment book. I have the three appointments I had with Mr. Bailey marked with bookmarks for your convenience, but feel free to go over the entire thing."

"Very well, the rest of your staff then," she said.

"Regina, you are putting out a lot of accusations, do you have any proof to any of them?" Erik asked quietly.

"Let me ask you this, Erik. How do you suppose Ambrose snuck into the school in the first place, and what is the real reason behind it? Don't you think believing in the story that he single handedly managed to get his name in the book, hid out for weeks with only pocket change on him, got himself from Hogsmeade to London on his own, easily found the train station and Platform when he'd never been to London before, and then conjured up a disguise that would fool even a Truth Seeker for months on end is just a little bit far fetched?" she said, triumphant at the side glances the members of the board were giving each other. "I think the more obvious answer is they snuck him in the school to hide the fact that if he did pick up any unusual talents at all, he inherited them from his father…as well as the fact, of course, that hiding the boy in the school helped protect the father's identity from leaking out to the general public."

Erik's face lost all color at that point, somehow able to maintain a stony expression, while realizing with some aggravation that Severus seemed as calm and relaxed as he had been from the moment he had come in.

"And just who do you think his father is then, Regina?" Severus asked almost casually.

"Well I think that's obvious," Regina said with a prim smile. "You are." Erik simply blinked, while the rest of the board started talking at once. Severus glanced at his watch and waited a moment before pulling out a scroll and throwing it on the table.

"You may want to look at that, Erik," Severus advised. Shaking off whatever had been bothering him, Erik reached for the scroll, glanced at the seal, opened it, then couldn't help but look amused when he read it. "I hope you don't mind. I decided to get my five-year physical a couple of years early, and at Mungo's, so there wouldn't be any question of bias," he added tersely.

"'To whom it may concern, this is to confirm that Severus Selezin' Snape has been sterile for twenty years from a self-administered potion, signed by the head resident, and several members of his staff. Want to see, Regina?" Erik offered, delighted by the fact that it was her face now that had lost all color.

"He is covering for someone! His son, maybe!" she blurted out.

"Who would have been still in school at that point," Severus reminded her.

"Well then, someone else!"

"Regina, enough of this witch hunt! Er…wizard hunt," Erik corrected, but Severus seemed unconcerned. "We are supposed to be discussing whether or not to continue this book, not to be trying to bury one another…"

"That's quite all right, Erik. I don't mind if we keep trying to bury one another," Severus said, sounding almost bored. As Erik was still trying to think of what to stay to that, there was a knock on the door and Gimler squeezed in, the sound of the crowd much louder and a looked to be a much larger crowd as well.

"Post!" Gimler said, holding up three rather heavy looking bundles, each about the size of the very book they were quarrelling over.

"Since when are these meetings ever interrupted for post?" Erik snapped, more out of anger at himself for letting things get so far out of hand as for any other reason.

"Thank you, Mr. Gimler," Severus said unconcernedly, taking the three packages. "Give me just five more minutes, thank you."

"Anytime sir," Harold said with an enigmatic smile and slipping out. But before Erik could ask about what he meant by that, Severus had glanced at the names on the packages before tossing them in front of Norman, Abraxus and Regina.

"There you are, I'd open them now, if I were you," Severus advised.

"What are they?" Norman squinted, half expecting it to be filled with Howlers. Severus smiled thinly.

"Report cards," Severus replied.

"Report cards?" Abraxus said curiously, opening the one with Don's name on it. There, simply bound in leather string, was every paper that Don had turned in that year; every homework assignment and every test, with even the oral tests carefully dictated out. Along with it was each teacher's agenda in detail with specific citings of the material, along with their final marks for every student in each particular class that Don had been in and the class average. Abraxus stared at the top page, which clearly stated Don's marks in general, letting out an exclamation.

"But these are terrible! Don is a bright boy, these can't be right!" he exclaimed in horror as he found himself scanning the tests.

"Well, I think it's obvious what these are all about isn't it?" Regina said, staring at Mike's front page but refusing to look any further. "You intentionally biased the boys because you didn't approve of the material!" Severus rolled his eyes and brought out a package of his own, dropping Lucky's on the table.

"My daughter failed Transfiguration. Her brother's subject, might I add, and although she passed her final, failed Defense because of her homework incompletions. The only reason she squeaked by Potions is because of the formulas, otherwise she would have failed in that as well," Severus snapped. "Are you going to tell me now that nothing is wrong?"

"To be fair, Pimra did all right, considering the challenge of the material," Norman protested. "She did pass…most of them," he said.

"Pimra passed because she was one of the students studying with Ambrose and his friends in the library storeroom," Severus said, Norman staring at him in response. "So if you want to know for certain whether or not Ambrose was coached, why don't you ask her, because she's been back there studying with them since Halloween," he said. Just then there was a knock, and Erik, who was attempting to get a peek at Pimra's stack to see what all was in there, looked up with surprise when Harold let in a slightly round but quite lovely rosy-cheeked woman carrying a package of her own, smiling at them enigmatically.

"Mrs. Bailey, if you'd do the honors," Severus said cordially, and Ashley came up with a proud look on her face and placed her son's report card in the center of the table. Most of the board looked in every other direction but at it. But Erik, Norman, and Abraxus stared at it intently, unsurprised to see that Ambrose not only passed, but had the highest marks on every list in every class. "You'll also find he did all the homework, and without his seventh year housemates filling in the blanks for him," he added, staring fixedly at Abraxus. Abraxus made a mental note to have a long talk with the twins when he got home. "Not only did he finish it, but he also felt he had plenty of time for a side project. Of course you'll know all about that, considering you approved its publication not half an hour ago."

"Um, Professor?" Harold said, motioning to where he was trying to hold the door shut.

"Oh yes, two other quick things," Severus said, handing Ashley back her son's report card and picking up Lucky's.

"Don't tell me. You gave one of these types of report cards to all the parents," Erik said tiredly.

"Actually, I did more than that. For if those of you with report cards care to look on the back page, you will find a copy of the original list of book recommendations you sent that we had to chose from, and, as you can see, it lists everyone on the recommendation committee, as well as who voted in favor of the book change proposal and what their school and background affiliations are," Severus smiled unpleasantly. "And that is important because, for my second point…you really ought to take a gander at the gossip column of the Daily Prophet before the door gets blown out from the other side, Regina," he suggested, taking the newspaper out of his cloak and putting it on the table.

"You didn't!" Abraxus said standing up with surprise.

"Tell them that your wife is a squib? No, of course I didn't," Severus said with a thin smile. "My wife did. But you know, for some reason, I don't think it'd be wise to call her on that," he advised, nodding to Gimler who 'accidentally' stepped away from the door. The room quickly filling up with irate parents, each with a package in hand. Erik leapt out of his seat and started backing up to the wall, Severus calmly joining him. "Thanks, Erik. I'm done burying now," Severus said evenly.

"Good," Erik said with a nod, looking worriedly at the crowd. "Got a shovel to dig us out?"

"Are you giving me permission to use it?" Severus inquired.

"Be my guest," Erik agreed quickly.

"Good," Severus said with a thin smile before calling the room to order.


	30. Dinner Guest

Chapter Thirty

Dinner Guest

Having a somber Aurelius and an even broodier Alicia come pick her up from the station was not what Lucky considered any sort of warm homecoming. But fortunately, Ambrose had accompanied her on the train and was going home for them for the evening, and that at least gave her someone cheerful to talk to. The moment they got home, Alicia stormed up the stairs, while Aurelius went in the kitchen long enough to chat with Mercy before retreating to the library.

"Television?" Lucky inquired, knowing Ambrose didn't have one at home. He grinned.

"Sounds good to me!" he agreed, the two of them planting themselves down on the couch. "So what do you suppose is wrong with Alicia this time?"

"Dunno, Bill. I don't really know her," Lucky admitted. "She's only here when she has to be, and when she is here, she acts like that. Maybe she just don't like it here."

"I can't see anyone not liking it here," Ambrose said wistfully, but then grinned. "Of course my house is nice too, and if it gets too quiet, I just run over to my cousins' house. It's always noisy there. What about Rel, do you get along with him?"

"He's not normally here either," Lucky said.

"Oh," Ambrose said with a frown, and then chuckled. "And here I thought it'd be exciting having them as siblings and all, and you hardly know any of them!"

"Alex is okay," Lucky shrugged, trying to concentrate on the game show that was on. "She sometimes talks too much, though."

"Yeah, she's always been like that," Ambrose grinned. "I bet it's going to be exciting having a baby in the house, huh?"

"Bill, watch TV," Lucky sighed at him.

It was an hour and two trips to the kitchen later when they finally heard the front door open. They looked up to see Jennifer hanging on Severus' arm with a glowing smile on her face, and Ashley walking right behind them.

"Here already?" Ambrose complained.

"Honestly! I haven't seen him in weeks and all I get is a 'here already?'" Ashley said with exasperation. "What about a hug?"

Grinning, Ambrose went over to his mother and hugged her warmly but began to protest when she didn't want to let him go right away.

"I see you two have been behaving yourselves for a change," Jennifer said to Lucky with a grin.

"Isn't that a miracle," Severus said dryly.

"There has been a lot of those going on today, hasn't there," Jennifer said with amusement. "But don't you have something to tell Ambrose, Severus?" Severus frowned at her.

"No, I was planning to wait until we got back to school. After all, I only have five days off before I have to go back, and after tonight I rather think I've earned the right not to have to step into Headmaster shoes for awhile." Severus said.

"Oh, no you don't, Severus. It's not fair to have to make him wait," Ashley chided, still keeping an arm around Ambrose despite his attempts to squirm away. "Especially after I agreed to go along with it. If you don't tell him, I will."

"If she doesn't, I definitely will," Jennifer agreed.

"Tell me what?" Ambrose asked, looking between them all curiously.

"Fine, if I must, I must," Severus sighed. A crooked smile appeared on Jennifer's face, knowing full well he wasn't as put out about it as he pretended. "Mr. Bailey, due to your academic work and flawless marks under trying circumstances…not to mention making me look good in front of the board," he added almost under his breath, "you will find that a hundred points has been added to your total once you arrive back to Hogwarts. Also, you will meet with me once more about that paper you turned in to do some editing. At which point, upon submitting it to publication in the source of my choice, you will receive a reward for services to the school. There, happy now? He's been told."

"Wow!" Ambrose said with a dropped jaw, putting up with his mother hugging him proudly again.

"Hey, what about me?" Lucky complained. Severus smiled thinly at her.

"You and I are going to have a little talk about your Defense marks," he said. Lucky sank below the back of the couch.

"Oh come now, Severus. Can't you cut her a little slack under the circumstances?" Ashley teased him with a smile.

"I didn't mention Transfiguration, did I?" Severus retorted. "I don't care how hideous those books were. Snapes do not fail Defense. And by the way, you will also be doing forms with me every morning while I'm here as well, Fortuna."

"Those books were hideous," Jennifer said with a grin, then looked up with a smile when she saw Aurelius standing in the doorway.

"By were, I take it that the board meeting went well?" Aurelius asked, Severus turning to him in response.

"The board has decided that due to negative student performance…and negative feedback from the parents concerned…that the recommended book list be withdrawn and class material be determined by the staff and Headmaster as in years past, provided that the students are meeting OWL and NEWT goals, of course," Severus said, shrugging it off as if that were a non-issue. "Furthermore, after having to deal with parental outrage over a matter of a particular board member being on the recommendation committee who had no business being there…and after perhaps some subtle prompting by the Headmaster…the board has amended one of their own rules to state that members of the governor's board must be a Hogwarts graduate to participate in any academic decisions made thereof, regardless of means or social standing."

"That should spell the end for Mrs. Coventry then," Aurelius said with a nod.

"She'll be able to finish out the year, but considering the gag order and the outcome of this particular meeting, I doubt I'll have any more trouble with the two of them for the rest of the term," Severus said. "After that, the board will most assuredly vote her out to put an active member in her place, so with any luck we can get someone in there besides Erik that I can rely on."

"That would be a nice change," Jennifer agreed.

"If we're not using the books, what are we doing when we get back?" Lucky asked with a frown.

"Well, I can't speak for the other professors, but in Potions we'll me working off notes and handouts I had from the year before with one exception," Jennifer said, glancing at Severus, who nodded. "I've decided that exposure to alchemist's notation early on is probably a good idea…in moderation. So from now on, I'm going to write out the notation for each lab for all my classes; for younger years, just to get comfortable to seeing it, working up to actually learning basic ones by fourth year, so that even students choosing not to continue on with Potions will have some limited understanding of how to read them."

"Wait, does that mean half the tests won't be on notation anymore?" Lucky said, not liking the sound of that.

"You're going to be studying about quality and potency as you should have been doing in second year Potions," Jennifer said with a firm nod, and then looked thoughtful. "But I may add one at the end for tests for a bonus now and then. Assuming we're allowed bonus questions again?" she asked, glancing at Severus who was frowning at her for bringing it up in front of students.

"A possibility, especially if that's the only way you'd put them on a test. But if you don't mind, I'd like to start my vacation now," he said curtly.

"Absolutely, Severus! Goodness knows you've earned it," Jennifer said with a proud, loving smile.

"And I've earned an extra batch of springerle as well, I believe…"

"Don't push your luck," Jennifer told him with a grin. Ashley chuckled, shaking her head at them.

"I had better get this one home. We'll probably be by in a day or two to see little Janus," Ashley promised as Jennifer walked them to the fireplace.

"They'll be back home tomorrow morning. Sagitarri just wanted to keep her overnight to get some rest," Jennifer said with a smile.

"One last quiet evening," Severus sighed at the reminder. "Not only does he have the Craw hair, but he's got the lungs to match."

"Just like his mother," Ambrose said with a grin, ignoring the disapproving nudge he got from his mother. He waved goodbye to Lucky before he and his mother disappeared in a burst of flame.

"He's such a brilliant boy, isn't he?" Jennifer said. "I'm so glad that's over!"

"Yes, well, he'll no longer be questioned about being in Hogwarts, but considering Regina brought up parentage, that fight is far from over," Severus said seriously, glancing at Aurelius. "If only it were going to be that easy to quell those questions from coming up again."

"Have you unpacked yet, Lucky?" Aurelius asked when he saw her staring at them over the back of the couch.

"Yes, perhaps you should settle in, Fortuna. I tend to do forms before breakfast," Severus added. Lucky turned off the television, looking quite annoyed.

"Ok, fine. I know when I'm not wanted," Lucky said sulkily before wandering towards the front stairs. Aurelius followed behind her to make sure she went all the way up, but paused thoughtfully in the doorway when he saw Alicia standing on the stairs wearing the same dark expression she had worn for the last few days.

Barely acknowledging Lucky as they passed each other on the stairs, Alicia came down and with a defiant look towards Aurelius strode into the living room. She gazed between her parents with a look at distain before her eyes finally settled on her mother, who in turn met her daughter's gaze with a troubled expression on her face.

"Why didn't you tell me you were his…that you were bitten by Francis?" Alicia demanded angrily.

"He helped save my life once, yes. Does that really surprise you? And as to why I didn't bring it up, I really have had no reason to," Jennifer said calmly.

"No reason to?" Alicia said incredulously, and then glanced at her father. "Did you know about this?"

"After the fact, yes. Everyone at the ball that night was doing everything in their power to save both you and her that night," Severus said quietly. "Pyther among them."

"And yet even after what his clan did to you, you didn't see any reason to tell me he had some sort of…blood claim on me?" Alicia seethed. Severus blinked in surprise and looked over at Jennifer who was busy trying to cut through all the emotion behind her daughter's thoughts.

"Alicia," Aurelius cut in, trying to pull her back. "Pyther only said that that night because he was trying to save your life, you know."

"Haggling for it, you mean, and selling himself out in the process…"she snapped, pulling her arm away.

"He was fighting them in the only way he knew how!" Aurelius snapped back.

"Like I didn't matter!" she shouted at him. "He's a monster, just like the rest of them!" Alicia turned back around and ran upstairs. Jennifer gazed worriedly at Severus, who watched her exit expressionlessly.

"Sorry, she's been like this all week," Aurelius said with sigh. "And I doubt she's going to stay put. That reminds me, is there any way I can borrow your spare watch, Mum?"

"Sure," Jennifer sighed. She got in her cloak and pulled them both out, looking them over before handing one to Aurelius. "Take this one, it has more locations on it."

"Thanks," Aurelius said, glancing at it only once before grabbing his own cloak and heading out the door.

"Elsewhere?" Severus asked.

"Presently. She' probably between paintings somewhere," Jennifer said distractedly. "Do you suppose it's a good sign, Severus?" Severus pondered it a moment, and then shook his head.

"No, I think she's merely reacting to the shock of what happened. She's no more disillusioned about Pyther than she has ever been," he said and then reached for his wife, pulling her over to him. "This is something they're just going to have to work out for themselves, Jennifer. It'd only make things worse if we interfered. Besides, you have a holiday to plan for, a grandchild to welcome, and I know for a fact you still need to go shopping for Fortuna."

"Yes, so much easier said than done," Jennifer said dryly.

"Since when are our lives ever easy?" Severus asked in return, kissing her when she couldn't come up with a quick answer.

Aurelius knew that one of the many things that seemed to contribute to Alicia's Snapish mood was the fact that as miserable as she was, Francis Pyther seemed to be much happier than he had been in years, perhaps even centuries. The night he moved in, Corey and the family had left him alone to become acquainted with his new living area and go through the boxes that Corey and his friends had found in Antarctica. The basement was just as large as Corey had promised; from all the toys and racks pushed against the back wall, Francis easily discerned it had been built as a living space for the children. Several pieces of mended chairs and couches had been left out to form a living area, and that, along with his own packed goods, rounded out the space well. He frowned at the finished paintings from his studio for a while before slipping upstairs to see if Corey was awake. After a brief discussion, the two of them decided to store them in the attic, and then Corey went to bed and Francis returned downstairs to finish unpacking.

The surprise came that next evening when there was a knock on the door and Francis opened it to see Corey standing there with an enigmatic smile on his face.

"Good, you're up. Time for dinner," Corey said. Francis blinked in surprise.

"I beg your pardon?" Francis asked.

"House rule, everyone sits down to dinner together," Corey said, his smile never leaving his face despite Francis' expression. "Sorry, you can't get out of it any more than Dad can when he visits. So come on."

"You can't be serious!" Francis said, despite the fact that Corey looked quite serious. "I can't in good conscience eat in front of others!"

"I can't in good conscience let you eat by yourself," Corey said firmly.

"I couldn't possibly, especially not in front of children. I'm certain my eating habits will disturb them," Francis argued back. Corey suddenly looked amused.

"Com'ere, Pyther," Corey said, taking him by the arm despite his protests and walking him towards the kitchen door. "You want to see disturbing eating habits? That is disturbing eating habits," Corey said, pointing to the high chairs where his youngest two sat. Amber, at almost three, had her face, arms and chest completely covered with spaghetti sauce, while the baby, Destiny, who was busy getting fed mashed peas by her mum, had somehow managed to get both peas and Amber's spaghetti caked into her hair.

"And they just got started," Corey added ominously. "Everyone else is waiting on you, and since I made them eat a half an hour later for you anyhow, they're getting a bit hard to handle. Do you want to make my life more difficult?"

"Um, no, but…"

"No buts," Corey said firmly and pulled him out of the hallway.

"Good evening, Mr. Pyther," Rose said with a warm smile before turning her attention back to the baby.

"Good evening, Mr. Pyther," Natalie and Hope said.

"Can we eat now, Mum?" asked Charles impatiently.

"Not until after grace," Rose said unconcernedly. "Have a seat over there, Mr. Pyther."

"Right here, Pyther, while I go get yours out of the ice box," Corey said. Francis gazed at him warily and reluctantly sat by the oldest girl.

"You have the good seat, you know," Natalie informed him. "It's out of projectile range."

"Oh," Francis said uncomfortably.

"Maybe we ought to skip grace. I'm not sure vampires are allowed to say grace," Hope said.

"She has a point, Mum. Do crosses really hurt vampires?" Natalie asked.

"Girls, please! The poor man is nervous enough as it is!" Rose frowned at them, and then darted a frown at Corey as well when he came back with an openly amused expression on his face.

"That only affects soulless vampires, ah…"

"I'm Natalie," Natalie said. "How do you know if you're soulless or not?"

"Natalie, say grace please," Corey said, handing Francis a sheepskin bag and sitting down. "And not just the word 'grace' this time, either."

"Fine!" Natalie said with exasperation, folding her hands. "Dear Lord, bless this meal, our drink, and us sinners, who sit down for our evening dinner," she said. Rose and Corey looked up and blinked at her. "And don't hold it against Pyther for sitting through this, since Dad made me. Oh, and I could use a new broom for my birthday. Amen."

Francis coughed slightly to hold back the overwhelming urge to giggle.

"I don't think God does birthday requests for grace," Hope confided to her sister. "I think that's only at bedtime."

"Well, from now on, would you please stick to something basic and not make up your own?" Corey advised, breaking the bread.

"I didn't make it up. I learned it from Corey Martin," Natalie said.

"How about you try paying more attention to Father Pachem in church and less to Corey Martin," Rose said disapprovingly before turning to gaze at Francis with a sympathetic smile. "Go ahead and eat, Mr. Pyther, it's all right. The children obviously know you're on a special diet."

"Girls," Corey said in a warning tone, pointing them towards their plates. But even as Francis bit into the sack, he was excruciatingly aware of three sets of eyes on him right beside him.

"What does that taste like?" Hope asked. Corey and Rose glanced up, but Francis merely looked thoughtful.

"I'm afraid it's been so long since I've had anything else, I'm not really sure I could answer," Francis admitted.

"Do different blood types taste different?" Natalie asked.

"There are subtle differences, yes," Francis nodded. "Each one is a little different, really."

"Do you mean each person?" Natalie asked curiously, and Francis nodded again. "Whose is that, then?" Francis shrugged, glancing at Corey.

"It came from St. Mungo's. Eat your fiddleheads, Natalie," Corey said.

"I don't like fiddleheads," she said, but stabbed one and stared at it a moment. "Have you had whoever's blood that is before?"

"Yes, I believe so," Francis said. "But I learned a long time ago it's best not to know whose is whose, so I never ask."

"How come?" Natalie asked.

"Well, on their part, because most people who donate blood prefer to remain anonymous, and on my part to keep me from feeling uncomfortable or obligated," Francis explained.

"Yes, but…shouldn't you feel obligated?" Natalie asked.

"Well, I feel obligated to the town, and grateful for everyone who has helped me over the years," Francis said. "Just like you should be grateful to your parents for providing you dinner and finish your fiddleheads."

"Well, I grew them, so I shouldn't feel obligated to eat them," Natalie decided, but ate one anyway before looking expectantly at her mother.

"Very well, Natalie, you're on dishes tonight," Rose said.

"Dishes!" Natalie protested.

"Or would you rather help me bathe these two?" Rose said with a thin smile. Natalie glanced at where Amber and Destiny were smearing the rest of their dinner into their trays.

"I'll take dishes," Natalie agreed, getting up.

"Hope, get the table. Charles, come help me get towels and bedclothes," Rose said, helping Amber climb down out of her chair. "Don't you dare touch anything!" she frowned at Amber, who was giggling and holding her hands up menacingly as Rose grabbed the baby.

"Anything I can do?" Francis asked.

"I think dinner was enough of a chore for you," Corey chuckled at him, getting up. "Have a nice evening! I'd better get this monster upstairs before we have spaghetti handprints all over the ceiling again."

After that, Francis had gone back to Hogwarts and got back to his routine of scanning the halls for both contaminated paintings and any signs of Merlin before settling into the repairs in the potion room, carefully dusting each one. Every now and again he found himself staring at the Alicia painting, only to stop himself with a shake of the head before continuing with his work.

He finished restoring the one he was on and contemplated where to hang it, wondering if it was worth putting them back out in the stairwell at all. What was the point of restoring them just to put them into a position where they might be damaged again? He sighed angrily at his own thoughts and shook his head. Paintings were not meant to stay tucked away in a closet. They were meant to be seen…otherwise they might as well never been painted at all. He hung up the painting of a group of witches around a cauldron, and glanced at it thoughtfully but found himself wondering if he had been doing the same thing by trying to hide his personal life, tucking it away so it wouldn't get damaged or acknowledged. But when depression began to threaten again, Francis decided the best thing to do was to get back to work, and tried to think no more about it.

By the end of the week, when the students went home for the holidays and Headmaster Snape was in the middle of his most productive board meeting ever, Francis had come to the conclusion that dinnertime was the best part of his night. After the first couple of nights with the typical questions about sun, diet, and other biological functions or lack thereof, the children were completely accepting of their new houseguest to the point of including him in other parts of their routine and even sometimes suckering him into doing their chores. For his part, Francis set aside an extra hour in the evenings after dinner to spend time with the children, most of it spent 'sneaking' in the attic for a 'surprise' portrait of the five of them for their parents for Christmas.

Alicia often watched them from the frame of one of Francis' many paintings in the attic, and that night when she left angry at her parents and wishing she were anywhere else, Francis had once again set up his easel to work on the family portrait.

"All right, everyone! Time to get your wiggles out," Francis said, taking Destiny from Natalie and putting her in a bassinet so the other four could wiggle. Natalie, Hope, and Amber all started dancing around, mimicking Francis who was shaking his arms over his head. "Charles the Third, get your wiggles out too."

"I don't have any wiggles today," he said, folding his arms stubbornly.

"You have more wiggles than anyone else, even little Amber," Francis chided him. "Where did you hide them?"

"The squirms ate them," Charles declared.

"Oh, I think you just have hidden wiggles. Girls?" Francis prompted. Natalie and Hope both launched themselves at their brother, tickling him incessantly to get his wiggles out until Charles screamed and ran towards Francis, who found himself caught up in the middle of it.

It was in the process of Francis getting them back under control and back into their positions that Alicia noticed something that she hadn't before. Francis had an undeniable way with children; kind and unbelievably patient, as understanding as he was instructive, and hanging on every word and often feeding them back to them so they could work out their emotions on any topic…very much like he often did his subjects while he was painting. And it was this side of him, Alicia realized, that she had missed so much when they had met again…the side she had had a crush on as a teenager.

Suddenly she felt like an idiot, wondering what she had been doing pining over a man who not only didn't have a life but apparently no interest, considering how quickly he had been rebutting every letter since the incident with his clan. It was futile, she told herself, futile to pursue it just because she personally felt something missing in her life. Perhaps that was all it had been all along, she reasoned, stepping back out of the frame.

Aurelius, who had been walking down Haven Row and debating whether or not to step in to Corey's for coffee, stopped short when he saw the compass move and Alicia's arm swing sharply back to 'home.' Odd, Aurelius frowned, he had expected her to stay longer than that, or at least bolt off to somewhere else in a fury like she normally did. Shrugging, Aurelius watched it for a moment before heading to the Three Brooms.

The hour was soon at an end, and as the children got ready for bed, Francis was feeling more than ready to do something productive, checking in with Hermione before wandering through the halls. As usual, there was no sign of Merlin; the only good news being he also didn't find any more infected paintings in the process. Even with so many in quarantine, there were still so many possibilities of where Merlin could be hiding that it seemed hopeless at best to try and find him that way. Could he have gotten himself thrown into the concealment room in another painting? No, Francis mused, it was more likely he would have intentionally jumped out at the last minute if he knew for a second it was where the painting was going.

Francis went to the Trophy Room to see if he had returned to his original painting, knowing full well he probably hadn't. But when he got there, he blinked in surprise, for the painting of Corey and his friends wasn't there. Had it been a victim of the fog, he wondered, or had they found him and stuck him in confinement? No, Hermione would have said something, he was sure. He checked the potion room first, but it wasn't there either, then the confinement room, and the finally with some dread the quarantine room.

He gazed at each one, looking at his notes on the ones he knew what they were, but none had been added since the night they changed the door guards. He wandered up to the Owlery to send a note to the Headmaster before going to the potions room to finish the repairs on another painting, despite the fact he kept getting distracted by the painting of Alicia still hanging on the wall.

The next evening, after waking up to Natalie banging and shouting through the basement door, Francis came up to find a simple note; Check Caprica. Inform me if evidence points otherwise. So, Severus thought Caprica was behind it? Pyther nodded to himself, realizing it made the most sense. Caprica did have the ability of moving paintings around the castle, and she may have had help…his thoughts were interrupted by a young boy pushing a book at him with a serious expression on his face.

"Now, I don't think we have time for that before dinner, Charles," Francis said.

"I'm Charles the Third," Charles said.

"Very well, Charles the Third, pardon me," Francis said with amusement. "Besides, wouldn't you rather hear something more interesting than _Theoretical Discussions on Equivalent Exchange Paradoxes; is Creationism Sensationalism?_" he asked, wondering if he even knew what it was about himself.

"That's grandfather's book," Hope said with a grin from the kitchen door. "Charles the Third suckers him into reading out of it practically every time he visits."

"Well, perhaps you ought to wait for him then," Francis suggested. Looking disappointed, Charles took the book back to the front room.

"He doesn't really read out of it, you know, he makes stuff up as he goes along." Francis peered over at the table, surprised to see Ambrose sitting there with a grin.

"Sssh, don't tell him that! Charles will hear you," Hope said.

"Hope, aren't you going to finish setting the table?" Rose asked from the kitchen. Francis found her near the stove with Destiny on her arm and Amber underfoot hitting pots and pans with a toy wand.

"Need a hand?" Francis offered, picking up Amber who didn't seem to mind it in the slightest.

"About three or four extra sets should do it, thank you," Rose chuckled as he put Amber in her chair. He had barely turned around when he found the six month old in his arms and had to deal with her as well. "Corey always works late on the weekends this close to the holidays, so it'll just be us tonight."

"And me," Ambrose put in. "Mum always stays open later this time of year too. So they've been forcing you into the dinner thing too, have they?"

"Oh, I don't mind, not anymore," Francis assured him, putting the baby in her high chair as well. "Actually, there's something I'd rather like to ask you since you're here."

"Sure!" Ambrose said, and Francis sat down beside him.

"Have you spoken to any of the Hogwarts paintings lately?" Francis asked. Rose gazed at Francis curiously as she sat down Amber's bowl.

"Who's had time?" Ambrose snorted. "You know what our schedule was like the last few weeks."

"But do you, then, on occasion, talk to them?" Francis asked. Ambrose thought about it.

"No, not really. I had one talk to me once," Ambrose admitted. "But that was a while ago, and I'd rather not talk about what prompted it."

"Was it Caprica Dusthorn?" Francis asked. Ambrose blinked at him.

"Isn't that a Headmaster painting? The one in Uncle Severus' study that always winks and giggles all the time?" he asked.

"Yes, that's the one," Francis agreed.

"Wasn't her," Ambrose said. "And actually, I'm not sure what I saw even counts as a painting or not. It was a sketch, really, and all he did was convince me to turn myself in for fighting in the halls."

"Fighting in the halls?" Rose frowned. "Mum didn't tell me about that one."

"Well…actually, I kinda sorta got away with it," Ambrose admitted, Rose furrowing her brows at him. "You're not going to tell, are you? That was ages ago…and besides, I'm a hero now! Uncle Severus says my history report was part of what convinced the board to get rid of those books!" Rose sighed at him.

"Say grace, Ambrose," she said at last.

"Grace!" Ambrose said, and the children fell to their plates before Rose could stop them. Francis giggled softly to himself, toying with his dinner pouch and wondering what Ambrose was leaving out.


	31. A General Lack of Noninterference

Chapter Thirty-One

A General Lack of Noninterference

When Hermione and Francis entered the Headmaster's Study later that night, they found Caprica wide-awake and smiling at them.

"Good evening, Pyther, Hermione! What are you up to? Here to raid licorice out of the candy dish?" she teased.

"We're simply here to ask you a question, Caprica," Francis said. "Do you happen to know where the missing painting from the Trophy Room went?"

"Why, I'm right here, Pyther," Caprica said innocently.

"The other missing painting, Caprica," Francis frowned.

"I don't know of any missing paintings, Pyther," Caprica said.

"Careful, Pyther," Hermione murmured. "If she knows where the painting is, it's not missing to her."

"Where is the painting of Corey and his friends?" Francis asked. Caprica thought about it.

"There's one in the confinement room," she said after a moment.

"The other one, Caprica, the one with you four and Merlin in it," Francis said, frowning at her.

"Oh. I have no idea," Caprica said with a smile.

"Wait…how could you not know of a 'missing' painting and yet still have no idea where it is?" Hermione asked with a frown. "Call the painting back into the Trophy Room, or at least back in the Great Hall, I know you can do that, I've seen you."

"I can call a meeting of paintings, yes, but the Headmaster asked me not to, since it'd also call the ones in the quarantine room," Caprica explained. "Otherwise I can only move myself."

"Caprica, if you did happen to call a meeting of paintings, would the one in question come?" Francis said. Hermione glanced at him thoughtfully. Caprica grew quiet a moment.

"I don't know if I could call them at all, really, what with that paradox painting in the containment room, so I'm sure I wouldn't get all of them no matter what I did…"

"You didn't answer his question," Hermione said impatiently, but Caprica simply smiled at her. "Wait a minute…I bet the answer is really no. By her reluctance to tell us anything, my guess would be someone took it out of the castle."

"Someone stole it?" Francis blinked.

"Nobody stole the painting," Caprica said firmly.

"Of course, not, they simply 'borrowed' it without asking the Headmaster's permission," Hermione said irritably, glancing at Caprica's smile. "And considering how far she's willing to go to protect them, I'd say it was a student. You don't suppose it was Ambrose, do you?"

"As it so happens, I spoke with him a little over an hour ago, and from what I could tell he's not one of her current helpers," Francis mused. "Caprica, you do realize if that painting is infected, it'll mean that the disease may spread outside the castle?" Hermione looked at Francis with alarm.

"I think that painting is safer outside of the castle than in it," Caprica said bluntly.

"And was Merlin in the painting at the time it was taken out of the castle?" Francis asked. But Caprica shrugged, this time looking openly unsure.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him, but somehow I doubt it," Caprica said.

"Yes, I think you're right about that," Francis agreed thoughtfully.

"So now what do we do?" Hermione sighed.

"My orders were clear. Let's send him a flame," Francis said, Hermione nodding in reply.

Severus hurried down the back stairs and towards the kitchen, stopping in the doorway to stare at Alicia, who was dutifully going through the cabinets while Jennifer and Mercy prepared the grocery list for baking day.

"Jennifer, can I have a quick word? School business," Severus said.

"I should have known it wasn't any sort of casual message," Jennifer said, marking her place in the cookbook.

"Don't worry, Mum, I'll get it," Alicia said, pulling out the rest of the spices off the baking shelf to check them. Staring at her a moment in confusion, Severus turned and followed Jennifer back into the study, closing the door behind them.

"Might I first ask what that is all about? I thought Aurelius said she went to the Riviera before he left," Severus asked.

"She did, she went with Jacob," Jennifer said with a nod. "And then when she got home all the sudden she wanted to 'help.' I don't know exactly what happened…Aurelius simply said that Jacob didn't seem like 'Snape' material to him, although I think part of that is he's still angry at him about the vampires…"

"Never mind the rambling gossip part, skip to the chase, Jennifer," Severus said with annoyance.

"Oh, that," Jennifer said after glancing at his face. "Somewhere between yesterday and today she has decided that her silly schoolgirl crush is over and she'd be very happy if she never saw Francis Pyther ever again," she said with some dramatic flare. "Believe it or not." Severus rolled his eyes. "What's wrong, Severus, isn't that what you wanted? The two of them finally willing to give up the ghost and part ways?" Jennifer asked. Severus squinted at her.

"Bait," he declared.

"Oh, yes," Jennifer said flirtatiously.

"All I want, Jennifer, is for the two of them to stop behaving like children and confront the problem before it eats them alive, one way or the other," Severus said. "Whether they end up together or not is none of our affair. I am simply trying to keep them from having any more close calls with Rafe or anyone else who decides to step in the way while Alicia's trying to get her act together."

"I know, Severus," Jennifer said solemnly. "But what was it you needed to speak to me about?"

"A couple of things actually, the first in lieu of what we're talking about presently. I've invited Pyther here for Yule to discuss a business proposal with him…"  
"A business proposal? At Yule?" Jennifer said dubiously.

"Yes, well, I decided not to cut my vacation short for it, but I'm afraid you may have to cut yours short if he accepts and for everyone's sake I hope he does. I've decided to ask him to fill the vacant position for the rest of the term. That will also get him safely back into the castle during the day when he's most vulnerable. You know as well as I do he's better off there. If he does accept, however, it does mean you'll have to change the schedule…"

"Obviously," Jennifer said with a frown. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to change all his classes until after dinner and instill the ten minute rule we use for Sinistra's classes for any scheduled past curfew," she sighed. "I know he's a decent History teacher, Severus, but are you sure he can teach Charms?"

"I'm not going to have him teaching Charms," Severus murmured. Jennifer stared at his expression in disbelief.

"You can't be serious. Have you gone mad?" Jennifer said incredulously.

"Why, don't you think Tonks can handle Charms?" Severus asked innocently.

"I trust Tonks in any major subject short of Potions, and that because the school couldn't handle the insurance hike. But asking Pyther to teach Defense? Severus, putting aside the fact the man is by his own admission an absolute coward, he's a pacifist! He doesn't believe in fighting!"

"Defense isn't always about fighting, Jennifer, someone who cast a golden touch curse on Voldemort should know that," Severus murmured.

"It's also not all about running," Jennifer snapped. "Besides, I was under extreme duress and you know it, and I hadn't killed anyone up to that point…and stop baiting me!" she added, when she realized that she had been.

"Turnabout is fair play," Severus murmured with a thin smile, earning a dirty look in return. "Besides, after the first term's gambit, I think it'll be refreshing for the students, not to mention a learning experience for both them and their instructor," he said in a low voice. Jennifer still looked dubious. "Or we could always go with Hermione's recommendation and ask your stepmother to teach Charms, considering it's her specialty…"

"Fine, I'll reschedule Defense," Jennifer said with annoyance. "Was that all, Professor?"

"I'm afraid not. I haven't told you the main reason Pyther contacted me, and that was because it appears that one of the Hogwarts paintings is no longer in the castle," Severus said. Jennifer's jaw dropped. "From what Pyther and Hermione surmised, the painting of Corey and the Sentinels was being used by one or more students to keep in touch with Caprica. They must have gotten wind that we were going to contain it and took matters into their own their own hands to protect it. My guess, however, is whoever may have taken it isn't likely to let that painting out of his or her sight, so more than likely it will return when they do after the holidays."

"And until then we can't get Merlin back into the painting if we wanted to," Jennifer said. "I don't know who's been more trouble during the painting crisis, him or Caprica."

"Yes," Severus murmured. "And in the meantime, Icarus has been unusually silent lately, except for constantly stressing to me that Alicia is not an option."

"When she could probably find that missing painting in an instant," Jennifer said with a sigh.

"It isn't as if I haven't thought of that myself," Severus said. He growled low in his throat in frustration. "Enough, I'm sick of work inundating every part of my life. I'm going to try to relax," he declared, going to the bookshelf.

"I can't say that I blame you," Jennifer nodded. "I'll have Mercy send you up a tray," she added before slipping down the stairs. Severus stared at his shelf of mysteries and began to pick through them, wondering which to read. But even as he pulled one off the shelf, he found himself glancing at his volumes on ancient magic and set his Holmes aside to look something up.

Despite the distraction, Severus did his best to try and enjoy the time off, even though he woke up at five in the morning out of habit. He turned over in his sleep for an hour before finally getting up to do some shopping and then went to Hogsmeade for breakfast with Dumbledore. He arrived home to find Lucky planted in front of the television in her bedclothes as if having little intention of moving from that spot for the rest of the day. Immediately he disillusioned her, sending her to her room to get ready for forms. In the kitchen, Alex sat at the bar with Janus, chatting with Jennifer who had just set several large bowls of dough mixing on their own.

As Severus came near, a pair of the spoons suddenly stopped their stirring and swung at him menacingly. An expression of amusement crossed Jennifer's face, but she quickly turned away when she saw Severus squinting at her.

"So how was your visit with Dumbledore?" Jennifer asked, pretending not to have noticed.

"All he wanted to talk about was the board meeting," Severus said, searching through the cabinets.

"Did you get him to talk about the Mallus Craw thing at all?" Jennifer asked. Alex glanced up curiously.

"Briefly. He said he played it by ear," Severus murmured. "Although I'm sure he must have read something about it somewhere." Jennifer gazed at his face thoughtfully for a moment, but his mind had quickly turned its attention back on his quarry.

"Is this about that inter-dimensional thing or whatever you were talking about?" Alex asked. Severus' eyes darted towards Alex.

"No, not directly, and I'll remind you to be careful about who you discuss that around…"

"She's not here at the moment. She said she had some shopping to do. But I hope she gets back soon because Andrew wants me to go help him shop for his Muggle girlfriends," Alex explained.

"Can I go?" Alex looked behind her to see Lucky standing there.

"Not until I'm done with you," Severus said firmly, moving an herb planter from the top of the icebox back onto the windowsill before grabbing the hidden plate of springerle Jennifer had stashed behind it.

"Fine, I admit I made one earlier just in case you came snooping," Jennifer chuckled. "Now get out of my kitchen."

"Fine," Severus said, opening the back door and frowning at Lucky until she reluctantly went outside ahead of him.

"I'd better go try and get Janus to lie down again," Alex sighed, standing. "I swear, I think he takes advantage of me since he knows I can understand him."

"Of course, Alex, that's his job," Jennifer said with an enigmatic smile, watching them leave. She quickly clearing off the bar to take advantage of being alone for a while, powdering the whole thing with flower before dumping out the bowls in piles of dough. It was just over an hour later when the springerle was cooling, the stolen was in, and she had begun on the gingerbread that Alicia came back, looking over her mother's progress thoughtfully.

"Need a hand?" Alicia asked.

"Not on gingerbread. I know better," Jennifer said curtly, Alicia smirking in response. "Why don't you work on getting the baskets ready?"

"Alright," Alicia said, grabbing some boxes of tea and mixed fruit, watching her mother for a moment before grabbing a lone basket from under the bar and setting it on one of the stools. Yanking on the handle, another basket appeared, leaving the original on the stool. "How many?"

"Thirty five," Jennifer said without looking up.

"You need to stop accumulating friends," Alicia said dryly, pulling out another basket. "So um, Mum, is it all right if I invite Jacob to our Yule thing this year?" Jennifer looked up from the gingerbread she was decorating and stared openly at her. "Don't worry, I already warned him about Father."

"Oh, um, no that's not it…you see, I was thinking about inviting Zoë this year is all," Jennifer said, smiling wanly when Alicia frowned at her. "You know, just like old times…"

"Maybe I'll find something else to do then," Alicia said.

"No! No, I don't want you to do that," Jennifer said, sighing and putting her wrist to her head, trying not to get flour on herself but failing miserably. "All right, I won't invite her, I guess…"

"Thanks, Mum," Alicia said with a grin, turning for the door.

"Wait, weren't you going to help me?" Jennifer said with exasperation.

"I'm going to Mum, I'm just going to let Alex know I'm back and send Jacob an Owl real quick to see if he wants to come," Alicia said. "I'll be back," she promised before exiting the room, leaving Jennifer to shake her head and try to sort things out. She was still standing there when Lucky and Severus came back in, Lucky irritably storming up to her room while Severus tried to discern why his wife had such a worried look on her face.

"Everything all right?" Severus frowned, glancing at the biscuits sitting on stacks of cooling racks. "Didn't burn anything, I hope?"

"No, but we might," Jennifer said darkly, Severus raising a brow in response. "Alicia decided to invite Jacob." Severus thought about it a moment before sitting down.

"Well, this is going to complicate things," he mused.

"You had to say it, didn't you?" Jennifer glowered at him.

"It's our own faults really, allowing ourselves to get involved in this. Well, the damage is done. No more getting involved," Severus said firmly.

"Does that mean I can stop following her around now?" Aurelius asked as he walked into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee.

"Are you convinced she's in no immediate danger?" Severus asked expressionlessly, grabbing a handful of raisins out of the bowl before Jennifer could stop him.

"No," Aurelius admitted, sitting down beside him. "But she hasn't been going out of her way to get into trouble, either. Personally, I think if the clan does decide to make a move, it's more likely they'll try to hit Hogsmeade rather than go after Alicia again. They did what they wanted to accomplish; they got Pyther kicked out of the clan so they can get rid of him. Their Revenant sees mortals as nothing more than food, tools, or something to swat down. If she's not in his line of sight, he's just as likely to discount her as unimportant. Now that other one they ran into in Beauxbatons' backyard is another story. Foncé's main motivation is advancement in the clan, and he also isn't likely to let go of the fact that felt he had a claim on Alicia, no matter what the Revenant ruled."

"I agree," Severus said with a nod. "Hand me the watch for a moment." Aurelius nodded and gave him the watch, looking on as he adjusted the set of dials at the side. "I'm turning the chime on and setting it to go off on the half hour so you'll think to look at it and check on her. That should be sufficient unless conditions change dramatically, especially until after the holidays are over since there will be plenty of people around to keep her from getting too out of control. As for Foncé, I'll have a word with Andrew when he gets here to see if Halbert is willing to keep tabs on him in case he decides to leave the country."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Aurelius said, taking the watch back. "Also, Jamie and Harry have been keeping an eye Polaris Town since Rafe claimed it to make sure he doesn't actually show up there, and since lately Alicia has been either at Corey's or Jacob's, the bases are pretty well covered."

"So Harry's finishing her surveillance training himself, is he?" Severus inquired.

"Yeah, I guess he wasn't too happy about our surveillance trip turning into something else," Aurelius admitted. "All the same, it does seem to be setting up for a quiet holiday after all."

"Yes," Severus nodded. "That's what worries me."

As the sun began to set on the first of Yule, Jennifer was down in the lab, frowning at the simmering potion she was working on when she realized it wasn't going to reach potency in time. She glanced at her watch and twisted a glass key to gather another sample of it in gaseous form, forming a magic seal over the mouth of the phial as she twisted the key closed again and ran a couple more tests. She heard heavy footsteps on the stairs and looked up to see Severus straining to carry Rasputin back down, hissing at him in response to the basilisk's complaints.

"He wants to know if you can turn the oven up. He thinks it's cold down here," Severus said, putting him down and watching as the basilisk lumbered over to his tiny box and plopped his belly on top of it, despite the fact the majority of his body, legs, head and tail was left resting on the floor.

"Well, he's going to have to deal with it a bit longer. I can't turn it up yet," Jennifer said, and Severus came over to look over her work.

"Can't you suspend it for now? Aurelius is already back with Ambrose, and I was contemplating waking up Alex and Ben since Alicia's friend is sure to arrive soon…"

"I won't have this done by tomorrow if I have to suspend it, Severus," Jennifer said, glancing at the tests a moment. "It just needs another half hour or so, so I'll sneak back down after the lighting and check up on it. Did you figure out what painting we're going to test the finished product on?"

"Pyther has something he's working on for the occasion," Severus explained, hissing at Rasputin before grabbing a mouse out of the cage. Upstairs, Descartes began protesting loudly. "I swear he must hear the cage door. He always knows."

"That bird has very good ears, you've always known that," Jennifer chuckled, putting her test equipment away and setting up some phials.

"It's safe to look now, and if you don't mind, I'd rather you be up there to deal with that mob…"

"What, so you can sneak off the moment it begins to get crowded?" Jennifer said knowingly, walking over to the stairs. "Well, I'm not letting you get away with that tonight, Severus. You invited Pyther, after all…"

"To discuss school matters, as you well know…"

"And that's not all, as I well know," Jennifer said, daring him to deny it with her piercing gaze.

"Yes that is all because we're not interfering," Severus said flatly.

"No, of course not," Jennifer said, ignoring Severus' squinting glare as she turned up the stairs. But when she got upstairs, she was slightly surprised to see Alicia brooding at the kitchen bar. "Something wrong?"

"Oh, Jacob can't make it. He's finishing up the totals on his research for a grant deadline," Alicia said, sketching the coffee cup in front of her out of boredom. She heard a pair of sighs and looked behind her, but both Jennifer and Severus were gazing at her expressionlessly. "He did ask me to go to his parents for Christmas, though."

"Well, considering we're going to be stuck at the castle this year, I'd say Christmas is fair game," Jennifer agreed after glancing at Severus. "Although I hope you'll come to Natalie's birthday party Christmas Eve. It's probably the only time we'll have a chance for the entire family to get together this year."

"Oh yeah, I forgot Andrew had a date tonight," Alicia said.

"Several, in fact. Probably to get even with me for all the extra work I've been giving him to keep him from doing it on weekdays," Severus said dryly, turning around.

"Wait, just where do you think you're going?" Jennifer scowled at him.

"If I am going to sit down here, I'm going to at least get myself a book," Severus said, disappearing up the library steps.

"You talked him into sitting downstairs with us?" Alicia said. "I hope that doesn't mean he's going to bring down his violin too."

"Why are you worried? Your friend isn't coming," Jennifer teased.

"I have ears too, Mum," Alicia protested. Just then, she heard the baby crying in the front room. "I'll get him."

"I should be waking Alex and Ben up anyhow. This baby is almost as much fuss as you were," Jennifer said, earning another dark look from Alicia as she followed her into the living room. Ambrose and Lucky were in front of the television while Aurelius was peering in the playpen skeptically as if debating whether to pick him up or not. "Ugh! Lucky, turn that blasted thing off! No television on Yule!"

"Wait a minute! What about television on Christmas?" Lucky said, suddenly horrified.

"You won't likely even be here then," Jennifer warned her before heading up the front stairs.

"But what about the Doctor!" Lucky protested, shouting up the stairs.

"What doctor?" Aurelius asked. Lucky looked annoyed.

"Oh, forget it. Like anything I say matters around here. And I also don't see what the big deal is about Yule anyhow," Lucky muttered as they turned it off, sitting by Ambrose on the couch. "Light a log, give a speech, pass around the album and eat stuff that makes you fat."

"I'd rather do this than harvesting mistletoe, which is what I'd have ended up doing if I stayed home tonight," Ambrose grinned.

"Well, Yule is just a cheap imitation of Christmas if you ask me," Lucky complained. "Without the presents."

"Don't let Mum hear you say that," Aurelius chuckled. "Or Father either, considering he had a choice which holiday to stay home for."

"I figured that was just so Professor Weasley could start her maternity leave a week early," Lucky shrugged.

"Well, yes, that too, but it's more than that, although I admit I didn't appreciate it myself at your age," Aurelius said, shaking his head. "Man, was I a jerk."

"You said it," Alicia agreed, settling in chair with a freshly changed Janus. Lucky would have expected some sort of retort, but Aurelius simply smiled at her and nodded slightly.

"Anyhow, celebrating Solstice among wizards dates back a lot longer than celebrating Christmas, really, even if we discount the years Christmas got banned for being sacrilegious," Aurelius said. "As far as the Craw family line is concerned, Yule has always been a time of family and reflection, and nothing is more sacred to a Craw then family, no matter how rotten some of them were…"

"I heard that," Jennifer scowled from the doorway as Ben sleepily headed for his computer chair and Alex straight for the coffee pot.

"You are going to record the Christmas special, right bro?" Lucky asked Ben.

"Absolutely," Ben said, while Jennifer glanced at their faces with a frown before rolling their eyes.

"That blasted contraption! Bad enough I have to hear about the damned thing every time I go to Father's!" Jennifer said with exasperation.

"Are they coming tonight?" Alicia asked.

"No, we're spared that this year, at least, although I'm sure they'll show up at Natalie's party," Jennifer said. "And I believe Sirius, Anna and Zoë are all staying at Zack's now that Juliet is on bed rest." Alicia suddenly squinted.

"Wait, I thought you told me you were planning on inviting Zoë here this year?" Alicia said suspiciously. Jennifer blinked, while Aurelius gazed at her curiously.

"Yes, I did consider it," Jennifer said with a nod. "Briefly," she added and then hurried to the kitchen, exchanging a glance with Severus who had appeared in the dining room archway with a book in one hand and his violin case in the other. Alicia groaned loudly.

"Well, you didn't think I'd pass up an opportunity to, let's see how does it go, something like…'torture you at home by tying you up in the living room while I screech away on my violin in a manner fit to wake the dead'?" Severus said. Ambrose snickered at the expression on Alicia's face as she tried to fathom how he had heard about that. "Turn the couch around, Fortuna. If I have to participate in a family gathering, so do you," he said, setting down his violin well out of Alicia's range and glancing at his watch. "And thank you, by the way, for picking out a sensibly sized log this year."

"I knew something was wrong. The thing is way too small," Alex said, walking in with a tray of mugs, goblets and wine glasses, hers already filled with coffee.

"Alexandria, the log needs only to burn twelve days, not until spring as some of yours used to do," Severus said, and a chuckle broke out as they talked about how many times the hearth in the Broom Closet had to be widened.

"I don't suppose you still have that painting I did of the Broom Closet, Mum?" Alicia asked.

"Of course I do," Jennifer said with a smile. "It's hanging in the bedroom. I'll go get it."

"Bring the album too, Mum," Alex suggested. Lucky and Ambrose grimaced at each other knowingly, and Lucky wondered how long she'd have to wait before she could feign being tired. Jennifer came back in with the painting and album and Alicia looked for a pair of free hands. "Here, I'll take him now, Alicia. Maybe I can get him to settle down in our room for a bit," Alex said, taking the baby.

"Don't you dare, not before the lighting," Jennifer protested, handing Alicia her painting. Aurelius walked over to look at it as well.

"Shouldn't it have been lit by now anyhow? It's after sunset, Father," Alex pointed out.

"Yes, but we're missing a couple of guests," Severus admitted. "Corey and Pyther should be on their way."

"Pyther?" Alicia said in alarm, and then noticed her mother's hand on the painting. Alicia's glare turned on her. "There's a door, Mum, that doesn't mean I'm going to use it." Sheepishly, Jennifer removed her hand. "I'm surprised he'd even show up here. What were you thinking of even asking him?"

"School business, not that it's anyone else's affair, but I'm asking him to rejoin the staff. I have a position to temporarily fill and I myself would prefer getting him out of my grandchildren's basement and somewhere Rafe doesn't have a chance in Hell getting into. So, I expect everyone here to be civil," Severus said, squinting at Alicia, who looked worrisomely defiant.

"Can we see your painting too, Alicia?" Ambrose asked, breaking the battle of wills going on in the middle of the living room.

"What's so special about a painting of a broom closet?" Lucky asked.

"That was just the nickname of our first house," Alex explained. "We grew up there."

"God, I loved that house," Ben said, coming over to the couch as Alicia sat down between them, refocusing on the front door. The painting, which seemed to have been upstairs, suddenly zoomed down the stairs, a bookshelf swinging open along with the front door, turning dizzily around to face the front door.

"What, you were there too?" Lucky said curiously.

"Yeah, I lived next door. I practically grew up there too," Ben explained.

"No practically about it. I think he spent more time at our house than he did at his own," Jennifer chuckled.

"Anyone with a Mum like mine would understand," Ben said dryly. "Besides, your house was much more interesting. Alicia, can you take us down to the family room?" There was a knock on the front door and Aurelius went over to get it. Alicia tried not to think about it, the painting getting hazy for a moment before she focused in on the basement.

"Wow, nice room," Ambrose said with admiration. "What's behind the curtain?" Alicia turned her perspective towards the curtain and opened it to reveal the ocean view, a few appreciative ah's coming from both Ambrose and Lucky.

"Happy Yule!" Corey said as he hung up his cloak and handed a bundle of mistletoe to Severus who inspected it critically before setting it down. Corey then stepped into the room with Francis quietly following behind, looking curiously at the group crowded around the couch. "What are you all looking at?"

"The painting of the Broom Closet," Alex said.

"I remember that painting," Francis said, stepping a little closer to look at it. "Extraordinarily good considering it was your first attempt at perspective movement. And it was a nice house."

"I loved that house," Corey agreed.

"If everyone loved it so much, how come you moved?" Lucky asked. Everyone suddenly grew quiet and Lucky looked up to see everyone lost in their own thoughts.

"I think that goes back to me being a jerk again," Aurelius said softly.

"No one blames you for it, Rel, you were just a kid," Corey said.

"Corey's right, it was Malfoy's doing, not yours," Jennifer added.

"What does he have to do with it?" Lucky asked.

"Fortuna, remind me about it before classes start again and we'll discuss it. It's hardly an appropriate Yule conversation," Severus said, walking over to the fireplace. "Suffice it to say we're here now and all in one piece, nothing else matters beyond that at the moment."

"In the house Mum used to hate as much as she loved the Broom Closet," Alex grinned.

"Perhaps I did at first," Jennifer admitted, but looked around with a smile on her face. "But I think it's really grown on me over the years."

"With that, why don't we begin, shall we?" Severus said, and Alicia put down the painting so everyone could gather around the fireplace and everyone grabbed a cup of one kind or another.

"Another year, another attempt to curse the family thwarted," Severus said. Ambrose and Lucky smirked at each other. "I won't bore you with the tedium of going into work, other than to note that the fact that the board rather abruptly decided it may be in their best interests to work with me instead of against me should be a refreshing change," he said, glancing at Ambrose who grinned back at him smugly. "Also of note, I believe this is the first year that Alicia has decided to grace us with her presence at one of these family events since she graduated Hogwarts. Come to think of it, this is probably the longest she's even been in the same room with me since then," he mused, getting an expression halfway between a grimace and a smile from Alicia in response. "I would like to say that I hope next year won't be as rough, but to be frank, I feel it's more likely to be the opposite. That said, I hope all of us present…and the one that isn't," he said with slight irritation, "remembers that even when all else fails, this family does not." With a flick of his wand, the Yule Log burst into flames, and everyone took a drink and got comfortable, Lucky and Ambrose falling to the biscuit trays while others found seats or transfigured some.

"That's a very ornate wand, sir. I don't believe I've seen it before," Francis commented. Severus nodded, flipping the wand over and offering it to him so he could see the detail on all the mythical creatures carved into the wood. Francis gazed at it with the keen eye of an artist, impressed not only with the level of detail in the dark wood but also the fact that every now and then one of the creatures seemed to turn their head or shift a little. He also couldn't help but be amused at the one-eyed basilisk that spiraled up the handle and hissed challengingly at a Stymphalian perched at the base of the wand, mimicking its hiss back at him. A single red jewel glistened in the basilisk's eye, the only gem in the entire piece. "Exquisite workmanship. Is that a ruby?" he asked, handing it back.

"Perhaps, although knowing Toby the Tinker it's probably something exceedingly rare," Severus said dryly. "He gave it to me after I broke my wand during that last fight against Ciardoth." Francis' jaw dropped.

"I didn't even know he ever made wands," Francis said.

"I don't know of another," Severus shrugged, putting it away.

"As far as I've found out from other wandsmiths, he's only gifted components," Corey put in. "Including the one in Alex's wand. I made that one." Alex beamed warmly at him.

"What sort of component is in your wand, sir?" Francis asked.

"I have no idea," Severus admitted. "I've never had the nerve to ask." A chuckle broke out from the adults, while Lucky and Ambrose looked at them in bewilderment.

"So when do you have to head back to work, Father?" Aurelius said abruptly.

"Tomorrow," Severus said. "And I'm going to have my hands full with having to approve all new agendas for the major subjects and finding an adequate substitute."

"That reminds me, I'd better go down and bottle those potions. Excuse me a moment," Jennifer said with a smile before slipping out of the room.

"I don't suppose you'd be interested in teaching again, Pyther?" Severus said as casually as if he had just thought of it. Francis blinked in surprise.

"Me?"

"Well, you have filled in before as I recall. History, I believe…and I think you can handle what I have in mind," Severus said. Aurelius raised his brow at what he saw behind that expression, but didn't say anything. "It also has the added bonus of getting you back in the castle during your day periods."

"Actually, I haven't really minded staying at Corey's all that much," Francis said slowly.

"I don't mind him staying either, Dad, whether he takes the job or not…" Corey began.

"I am not comfortable with the current arrangement," Severus said in a tone that breached little argument. "And although I know you can more than handle yourself, Corey, I would rather you not put in the position to have to test it. The Donnacht wouldn't act directly against the school if they can help it, but they will act against the town and I for one do not want my grandchildren forced to take that risk when it is unnecessary."

"You are right, Severus," Francis said quietly, nodding to himself. "And of course I'll help fill in at the school. The last thing I want to do is become any more of a burden than I've already become lately."

"Yes, well, be sure that if you do, I'll let you know," Severus said with a thin warning smile that made Francis seem to shrink back a bit. Alicia rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Wow, it'll be fantastic having you as an actual teacher!" Ambrose said with enthusiasm. "I've learned so much from you already that I know you'll be great at it! And I won't have to worry about having to traipse half the school to figure out where you are if you have your own office," he joked.

"Not that you would need to, now that your research project is done except for editing," Severus said with his eyes fixed on him, disliking the idea of Ambrose trying to find excuses of being out in the halls after hours.

"Pyther helped you with your research project?" Alicia said in such a calm, cool tone that Severus glanced over at her, wondering what was going on. He glanced back to the others to see Pyther giving her a very guarded look, while Aurelius had taken a very healthy step backward.

"Sure, he's been helping it with me all year. I couldn't have gotten it done without him," Ambrose said emphatically. Lucky nudged him hard. "What?" he asked her, wondering why Lucky was trying to bore her eyes into him.

"All year, Ambrose? Before Halloween?" Alicia asked evenly. Alex, who had seen that expression on Andrew's face before, also decided to take a step backward.

"Well, yeah, sure, does it matter?" Ambrose asked, wondering why everyone had gotten so quiet and why Severus was gazing at Francis the way he was.

"The painting is there, isn't it?" Alicia asked. Francis glanced at Severus pleadingly, but Severus had suddenly lost interest in the conversation and sat down, thumbing through his book.

"Yes, but it isn't there because of why you think it's there, Alicia…after all, I'm well aware that you can't get in or out of the castle that way…"

"And yet had I tried it'd have thrown me to Hogsmeade instead of stopping it all together, so I would have been onto you," Alicia said. "And here I thought your timidity with the notes was because you were afraid of my parents! And yet now I learn you had been in contact with them long before that all started? I should have known you wouldn't have taken any sort of initiative unless you were sure you weren't going to get killed for it! So much for the idea of you finally starting to grow a backbone!" Francis suddenly got the look of someone who had been slapped.

"It wasn't them I was afraid of so much as I have been afraid of you, Alicia," Francis said angrily. Alicia snorted at him in disbelief. "Why else do you suppose I kept the painting in my studio for so long, even after it stopped following me around?" he asked, Alicia staring at him in response. "I didn't do it because of them, Alicia. I did it because I didn't like the idea of not being able to turn my back onto a painting because you might choose to invade it at any time. And considering how much you tried to spy on me while I was staying at Corey's, it seems that my fears were warranted! In fact, if there is one great advantage to moving back to Hogwarts, it'll be that I am safe from you! You have no respect for my privacy or my wishes in the matter. Come to think of it, you've never actually listened to any of my concerns since the very beginning. You've always been too wrapped up in your own narrow ideas of how the world works and your own selfishness to pay attention to anything else. So what if I didn't tell you I was working at Hogwarts? Where I chose to work is really none of your business, and like it or not, it had absolutely nothing to do with you! If I made any mistake, it was writing the silly notes in the first place thinking that perhaps you had matured enough we could regain some semblance of the friendship we once had. Yes, well, you've definitely proven me wrong on that."

"You're the one who has been treating me like a child since the moment we've met again!" Alicia shouted back at him. "You're always digging in about my 'lack of experience' and talking about your age as if six hundred years of being a coward is something to be proud of! I'm not fifteen anymore, Francis! Maybe if you stopped patronizing me all the time, you'd realize that!" Francis sighed and shook his head, staring critically at her.

"If you want to be treated like an adult, Alicia, I suggest you start acting like one," Francis said crisply, then turned towards the door. Furiously, Alicia took out her wand and mumbled a spell under her breath, while Corey, Alex and Aurelius barked out warnings as she cast at him. Francis turned around in surprise to find Alicia standing there with her wand pointed at him and a puzzled look on her face. Nothing had happened, not even a fizzle…but there could be no denying from her expression that she had tried.

"Sir, if you don't mind, I'd like to move into the castle as soon as possible, tonight preferably," Francis said.

"Be my guest," Severus said calmly, taking out his pipe unconcernedly. Francis simply nodded before he strode out the door, slamming it behind him. Alicia growled in anger and gripped her wand tighter for a moment before finally putting it away and dashing up the stairs without looking at anyone. Corey ran over to the window, looking out worriedly, but Francis had already taken to bat form and had flown out of sight. He turned to see everyone else had grown very quiet.

"Are you all just going to sit there?" Corey snapped angrily, and then gazed over at Severus lighting his pipe, who seemed unusually relaxed despite the fact that everyone else was uneasy. "Someone at least go up and talk to her! Dad, aren't you going to say anything?"

"It's about time," Severus said after looking at his pipe for a moment. Corey gaped at him.

"Alicia just tried to spell Pyther in the back, and all you can say is, 'it's about time?'" Corey repeated, extremely upset.

"Alicia can't hurt Pyther with that wand, Corey, unless she tries to poke him or hit him with it. His own tooth was used as a component," Severus explained unconcernedly.

"Doesn't it bother you that she even tried?" Corey demanded. Severus mulled it over.

"I've always preferred potions myself for those sorts of disputes, but to each her own," Severus replied evenly.

"Severus Snape!" Corey looked up to see Jennifer in the dining room archway with her hands on her hips and looking vexed. "Are you smoking in my living room? And with children in the room no less!" she scolded. Severus quickly snuffed his pipe and murmured a quick spell to clear the air.

"Never mind that!" Corey snapped. "Pyther took off. He chewed Alicia out and she tried to turn him into a crater and he left."

"Actually, I believe she tried to spell him after he turned to leave," Aurelius said.

"Really?" Jennifer said, her face brightening in such a way that Corey could only gape at her. She walked over and put her arms around Severus. "Thank the stars! I was beginning to wonder if it'd ever happen."

"I don't get it," Lucky was the first to say.

"Fortuna, the two of them have had very preconceived notions about who the other was and have carried it around with them for years," Severus said. "Now that the gloves are off, the rose-colored glasses they've been wearing have broken as well. It's something all fated couples go through…"

"I don't remember ever going through it," Corey retorted.

"I remember yours even if I hadn't been there myself, Corey, because yours came off in the middle of Hogsmeade…only in your case it was your shirt, I believe…" Severus mused. Corey blinked.

"Oh, that," Corey said, looking deflated. "I guess I'd better go find Pyther."

"I'm sure he'll be back at your house the moment he's cooled down to start packing," Severus reassured him.

"Mind if I tag along? He might need another pair of hands," Aurelius suggested, and Corey nodded in response.

"I think I'm going to go make a fresh pot of coffee. I doubt we're going to see Alicia again tonight," Jennifer added.

"You sure this was more fun than gathering mistletoe?" Lucky murmured to Ambrose, but Ambrose had noticed Severus had turned his eyes on them.

"Sorry if I said something I shouldn't have," Ambrose said, having wanted to say that for the last ten minutes.

"Eight years old and already a catalyst," Severus said with a sigh, holding out the biscuit tray for each of them to grab one before taking one for himself.


	32. Agreements

_A/N long chapter here...chapters are more than likely going to be longer from here on out...Forbidden Tomb sized chapters in fact...and I'm predicting about a 43 chapter book (I'm on chapter 40 at the moment. Once I get done with the whole book I'll start uploading more frequently as is my m.o. Lot of setup stuff here, a super important reappearance, and yes, some more Pyther insight thrown in as well...not to mention a little insight on the life of Andrew...who were his parents again? Anyhow, enjoy! Let me know what you think! JCWriter. _

Chapter Thirty-Two

Agreements

Andrew shifted a bit only to feel something soft and warm and woke up with a contented smile, stealthily working his tingling arm out from underneath the blonde beauty beside him. She turned over and mumbled something and he glanced at the back of his hand before kissing her ear.

"Go back to sleep, Tammy, it's still early. I'll worry about breakfast," he whispered, getting playfully batted away when his whisper tickled her ear. Grinning to himself when she pulled up the covers, he decided it was safe to get up. He reluctantly pulled on his robe and shuffled off to the kitchen, taking a moment to sneak a peek at his appointment book hidden among his large assortment of cookbooks.

"Hm, gave myself the morning off, that was nice of me," Andrew chuckled to himself, glancing thoughtfully at his evening schedule before stashing it away again.

He then checked the egg tray in the icebox, glancing at how few he had. Well, there was always the option of his famous pancakes, he thought with a grin, glancing inside the door at his wide collection of jams and sauces. But when he tried to grab the maple to warm up while he cooked, he couldn't find it. It was usually right in the top section with the strawberry, chocolate, caramel, and other flavored syrups of major import. It wasn't even stuck with in the lower shelf with the raspberry jam, pumpkin butter, and chocolate- regular- and nondairy- whip creams. It wasn't even near the red or green maraschino cherries, (which he practically never used.) Puzzled, Andrew turned and opened his baking cabinet briefly before peering in the cabinet just above it, but all that was in there were oversized jars of peanut butter and marshmallow crème, and a lone unopened can of _Have Your Cake and Eat it Too _brand of ready-made icing.

He scratched his head for a moment and then suddenly snapped his fingers and slipped back into the bedroom, pulling the bottle of syrup out from under his bed. He chuckled softly at himself again but stopped when she stirred, quickly hiding the syrup behind his back until he was sure she was still asleep.

Andrew slipped into the kitchen and gathered everything he needed, turned on the burners, filled a metal syrup pitcher and stuck it in the middle of the stove to warm up, and then began mixing everything together. He had always preferred to put it together by hand…never quite happy with the batter consistency when he tried using magic to do it. But he had found a charmed pancake spatula that suited him, so after putting a griddle on every burner he loaded each one up and let the spatula do the rest of the work, watching it pace as it waited for the surfaces to bubble and flipping them enthusiastically whenever it had the opportunity.

"Good morning," Tammy said from behind him, and Andrew turned out to see her standing there in one of his shirts.

"What are you doing up? I was going to serve you in bed," Andrew complained.

"Oh no, that was last night," she said mischievously, kissing him. "I needed to freshen up anyhow. My, what an elaborate kitchen you have!"

"Food has always been my second passion in life," Andrew admitted, pulling out some fresh strawberries from the icebox.

"And what is the first?" Tammy asked coyly.

"Teaching," Andrew said. Tammy stuck her lip out in a full pout. "Oh, all right, I suppose I could bump food down to third place," he chuckled, her face brightening in response as he turned to put some plates together, a bit glad she didn't ask which one he had put in second. By the time he had turned around and put the plates on the table, the girl was nowhere in sight. Frowning, Andrew glanced at the back of his hand again. "Tammy?"

"In here," she said from the spare bedroom, and Andrew came in to find her staring at his village of Hogsmeade. "This is amazing! Did you make this?"

"Oh, yes, I've been working on it since I was a kid," Andrew admitted with a smile but then frowned. "Hm, I haven't had time to put the Christmas decorations up yet. If I had, all the miniature figures would have come out of the buildings to do their shopping by now."

"Why look, there's Honeydukes! And there's the Three Brooms, and isn't that Bailey's Boutique and your brother's apothecary?" she asked excitedly. Andrew grinned at her, pulling out the box of Christmas decorations from under the table. It was nice to see someone else enthusiastic about his project. "Too bad you don't have a Hogwarts."

"Well, I do, but the Headmaster won't let me take it out of the castle," Andrew explained. "Perhaps you'd be interested in helping me with the decorations after breakfast?"

"But I have to work," Tammy pouted. "Perhaps I can come by after work?"

"Ah, I'm afraid I have some business to take care of then, so I won't be here," Andrew said. Tammy frowned. "I tell you what. I'll get it all ready then send you an Owl so you can come over and see it in its full holiday splendor."

"Will it come with pancakes?" Tammy asked flirtatiously, setting up a couple of the lampposts that had fallen over.

"That reminds me, we'd better get in the kitchen before the ones I made this morning get cold," Andrew chided her.

"Wait a minute, what's this shop?" Tammy said suddenly as she was looking away from the lampposts, gazing at it with a frown. "I don't remember that one, Andrew. Does it even belong in there?" Andrew looked over curiously at the building she was pointing at and then his jaw dropped when he saw that Toby's Trinkets had reappeared. As he stood there staring at it, a miniature of Toby walked up to the glass door and peered out…and even more startling, looked straight up. Smiling enigmatically, the figure waved at Andrew before turning on the lights inside, putting up a sign in the door before walking further inside where Andrew could no longer see him.

"I have to go," Andrew said abruptly, running into the bedroom to get dressed. "Darwin? Where are you?"

"Something wrong, Andrew?" Tammy asked, standing in the doorway in confusion.

"Yes, no…well it's…family business," Andrew said as he pulled on his pants and kissed her apologetically. A tiny bird flew to his shoulder, chirping curiously. Andrew scribbled a note and shrank it down to size, putting it in a tube on the bird's leg. "Take it to Father, Darwin, and then meet me at Corey's," he said before throwing on his robes, noticing the annoyed look on the girl's face. "Sorry, sweetie. Take your time, enjoy breakfast, and um…could you lock up on your way out? Thanks!" he said, giving her a swift kiss before heading out the door.

In a flash, Andrew was running down the streets of Hogsmeade. It was quite early still, and none of the regular businesses had opened yet. Even the majority of the light snow from overnight had been undisturbed until Andrew raced down the middle of it, slipping and sliding to a stop when he came face to face to a shop that hadn't been there in nine years. Curtains were over the windows at the moment, but a large sign had indeed been placed on the glass door, with the words, "Not quite open for business yet. _No, not even for you._"

"Wow," Andrew murmured out loud and then shook himself out of it, hurrying over to Corey's house and knocking on the door, hoping it wasn't too early. Of course, the person who opened the door was the last person he had wanted to see. Ambrose popped it open and stared at him curiously.

"Up already? I thought you said you had dates packed solid!" Ambrose said.

"Where is Corey?" Andrew asked.

"Everyone's in the kitchen," Ambrose said. Andrew hurried in, and Ambrose closed the door and followed curiously behind. All the kids were busy eating breakfast at the table, while Corey, Rose and Ashley stood at the kitchen counter with mugs in their hands, discussing plans for the birthday party. But everyone looked up in surprise to see Andrew standing there with a strange expression on his face.

"Morning, Andrew! What are you doing up so early?" Corey asked.

"He's back," Andrew said as if that explained everything. Corey, Rose and Ashley stared at him. "The Shop is back."

Ashley put down her cup and picked up her skirts, sprinting out the door.

"Mum?" Ambrose said, turning to go after her, but Andrew and Corey were quicker, veering him into the kitchen.

"Sit down and finish your breakfast, Ambrose," Corey insisted, firmly guiding him back into his chair. "How did you find out, Andrew?"

"My date decided to go look at my models when I was making pancakes this morning, and when I went to look in on her the shop model had returned," Andrew explained.

"You can make pancakes? You never make us pancakes when you're watching us," Natalie complained.

"Oh no. He only makes those for his _special_ dates," Ambrose said knowingly.

"Ambrose!" Rose, Corey and Andrew barked at once. Ambrose simply grinned.

"So what shop are you talking about, anyhow?" Hope asked. The three adults turned to look at her as if she had asked something completely esoteric.

"We need to find out how Dad wants to handle this," Corey said without answering her.

"Is it going to matter all that much?" Rose asked. "It's not like anyone can really stop Mr. Toby."

"Well, yes and no. Father has certain magically-bound Agreements in place to keep things in line," Andrew explained. "But Toby is known to push his luck and use any loophole he can find to his advantage."

"Well, look on the bright side. At least we'll get some awesome shopping done this year," Corey put in. Rose couldn't help but look amused by that, despite the fact that Andrew was giving him a very dirty look.

Severus seethed as he stood outside Toby's shop, glaring at the sign. It was very easy to tell that he was seething; for the sign on the door read: Still not quite open for business yet. _Especially not for a seething student of the Ancient Arts who probably has better things to do than lurk in front of this shop._ Despite that, Severus stayed put, folding his arms as if he planned to stay there all day if necessary. But after a half hour Ashley Bailey slipped out of the shop, sighing softly as she pulled the door shut with an audible click before walking over to Severus.

"And just what exactly were you doing in there?" Severus asked. Ashley blinked in surprise, shaking her head with a smile.

"That didn't take you very long, did it?" Ashley said.

"How curious, I was thinking the exact same thing," Severus said. Ashley rolled her eyes.

"He warned me you'd be this way. Very well, that being the case, I've been instructed to give you a message," she said. "He told me to tell you, 'If you learn when to mind your own business and when to mind other people's business, you'll be a happier man.'"

"Yes, thank you, I'm sure that's very useful advice, coming from him," Severus said dubiously. But Ashley simply smiled at him again before wandering towards Corey's place to pick up Ambrose.

By the time Corey walked by on his way to work a crowd was beginning to gather in front. Many of them were trading stories about some of the wondrous items they had seen in years past, while children stood by their parents with looks on their faces as if unsure on whether or not they were exaggerating.

Corey grinned and decided to use his lunch break to see if it was open yet, although it wasn't long before his thoughts wandered to Ambrose. Severus had made it perfectly clear that he didn't want him anywhere near the shop, but how could he really stop it? Ashley, although agreeing with Severus in principle, had firmly told him that she wasn't about to keep him grounded to the house during the holidays when he had done nothing wrong to deserve it. Ambrose was used to having fairly broad privileges on where he could play. As long as he stayed in town, stayed away from the Pannage and was back at meal times, he had been allowed to do what he pleased; for his mother knew full well he could only get into so much trouble with limited spending money and his cousins following him around at random intervals. The boy had promised not to go in, but could he really keep that promise, even if he wanted to? Despite his intelligence, Ambrose was still eight, and the stories he would likely to hear about that shop and the fact that everyone wanted him to stay away from it was more than likely going to drive him mad until he snuck in.

As it turned out, the situation proved to be even more maddening than Corey was imagining. It had all started when Rose decided to take the children out to do some last minute Christmas shopping, having a strong desire to go back to Toby's shop herself. But it didn't take Rose long to realize that something was wrong.

"Look, there it is, Mum, you were right!" Natalie said excitedly. "I've never seen anything on this side of the street before."

"Why, it's not far from our shop!" Hope agreed.

"I want a toy," Charles said simply, pulling on the buggy Amber and Destiny were sitting in.

"What are you talking about?" Ambrose asked at last. For they were all standing in front of a brick wall, completely covering an old abandoned storefront that had been there as long as Ambrose could remember.

"The gift shop, silly," Natalie said impatiently, but Rose was gazing at him searchingly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Ambrose said.

"Sometimes people don't notice the shop unless they're shown it, so perhaps that's all it is," Rose said. But it sounded as if she was saying it to herself as much as she was saying it to the children, and she went over to Ambrose's side and took his hand. "Come, Ambrose. There's a door right here, straight in front of us. Do you see it now?"

"No," Ambrose said with a frown.

"Everyone stay there with the buggy a moment," Rose said, not letting go of Ambrose's hand as she stepped forward towards the door. Suddenly, she lost her grip on Ambrose and heard an exclamation of pain and a thud, and turned to see him holding the fingers of his hand funny and there were red scrapes on his arm. When he got over the initial pain of having his arm yanked at a brick wall, Ambrose found himself staring as Rose stepped through it with a complete look of bewilderment on her face. "Hm. I'll be right back," Rose said, turning back around and entering the shop.

Quite a crowd was in there, pulling off a strange collection of miscellaneous items off the shelves, while at sitting at the bar near a large coin jar was a wizened, rather gnomish looking man with tiny glasses on his nose and bright blue eyes. Behind him, an amber-eyed wooden owl watched the shop with open interest, hooting with curiosity when Rose came up without an item.

"Ah, good afternoon, Rose! It is very nice to see you again. Doing some shopping?" Toby asked brightly.

"We were hoping to, Mr. Toby," Rose said with a nod, glancing back at the door where the children were standing. "But one of us can't seem to see the shop."

"Ah, I see," Toby said, suddenly turning serious. "I take it you're watching your brother today?"

"Yes, I am. He's standing right there, just beyond the door…"

"If I tried to look for him, all I would see is a brick wall," Toby said quietly. Rose turned back around with open bewilderment and alarm, and Toby smiled sadly and nodded in response. "I'm sorry, Rose, but due to certain arrangements I had to make to see to the boy's safety, he's not allowed in. And it's probably just as well, for even if he could the see the shop, I wouldn't be able to sell him anything, you know, because that would infringe upon noninterference Agreements, and that we can't have, can we?" Rose shook her head. "Perhaps you should try to come back later after you've dropped him off with his mother. I do apologize…"

"No, Mr. Toby, don't. I'm the one who's sorry that either of you have to do this," Rose said fervently. Toby tsked then, smiling at her warningly.

"My dear, you are so much like your mother," Toby said.

"Thank you," Rose said with a warm smile before turning back outside.

"Here she comes," Natalie told Ambrose, and a moment later Rose appeared through the brick wall. "So?"

"So!" Rose repeated, looking at the intense faces. "Let's go to Honeydukes! All the frogs you can eat at one sitting, my treat!"

"Now you're talking!" Hope said excitedly, turning the buggy around. But Rose didn't miss Ambrose staring back at the wall as if trying to see through it as they walked down the street.

It was later that afternoon when Jennifer found out, hanging out just behind the counter as Corey prepared her order while Lucky wandered around the front of the shop until Jennifer was ready to torture her by taking her in for a new dress.

"So he can't see it at all?" Jennifer sighed, shaking her head. "I suppose that really is the best thing to do, but I can't help but feel a little sorry for them to have to go to this extreme."

"Yeah, me too," Corey admitted. "I know legally and contractually Ashley is the only parent, and I understand why who his father is needs to be hidden. But forcing them apart like this…I don't think it's good for Ambrose, honestly."

"Neither do I," Jennifer said, growling softly. "Legally and contractually indeed! Children should be more than just some sort of Agreement!" Corey chuckled at her, and she looked over at him in annoyance. "What?"

"Mom, marriage is a contract, and I should hope that all your children were based on mutual agreement," Corey chided.

"That wasn't a business arrangement, Corey…"  
"Like hell it wasn't," Corey said, picking through the mistletoe. "Everything from the number to the timing so it wouldn't affect your work schedule to what you wanted in a nanny and how to schedule weekend visits was all handled in a businesslike manner. In fact, I would go so far as to say that nobody I know had children as businesslike as the two of you. And yes, maybe the decision wasn't based on any love between them, but it was based on mutual respect, and in some ways that's just as important, Mom. You can't deny that Ambrose has grown up in a loving home with an insanely large family support network, and that's not even counting Severus' constant vigilance being there to smooth out the bumpy road ahead when that kid undoubtedly starts developing some oddities because of his parentage. In fact, I'd go so far as to say he's had advantages that none of Toby's other kids ever had, and that's proof enough to me that Toby loves him too, even if he's not allowed to know him."

"Toby didn't want to make the same mistakes he had made before with another child," Jennifer murmured.

"Yeah," Corey said quietly. "You know, I think he loved Ciara too." Jennifer focused in on him.

"You knew about that?" Jennifer said. Corey shrugged.

"Dad told me after we found out Ashley was pregnant," he explained. "And about his Agreement to watch over him. Dad loves him too, you know," he added.

"Oh, there's no doubt about that," Jennifer said with at smile. She was about to say something else but stopped short when Ambrose came in, running over to Lucky and pulling her aside to talk to her. A moment later, Lucky walked up to the counter.

"Can I go talk to Ambrose for a sec?" she asked. Jennifer frowned slightly, reading what they had it mind and knowing it wouldn't work.

"Five minutes, Lucky. You're not getting out of going to the dress shop today. You've grown out of your old one," Jennifer said with a stern look. Lucky made a face of disgust but saluted her, the two of them running out of the door. Shaking her head, Jennifer turned around to help Corey sort the mistletoe.

"It's right over here," Ambrose said, hurrying so quickly to get there that Lucky had to practically jog to keep up.

"Oh yeah, I see it now," Lucky said when Ambrose stopped in front of the brick wall directly in front of where the door would be.

"You see the wall?" Ambrose asked.

"No, I see the shop," Lucky said, reading the sign. "Toby's Trinkets. Funny, I didn't see it until you showed me."

"What!" Ambrose said in confusion. "I just showed you a wall!"

"I know that's what you see, Bill. But I see a door," Lucky said.

"Isn't there anyway you can help me past this? I mean, I thought you could get into anything!" Ambrose said with frustration.

"If I could see the wall too and knew there was a door behind it, sure, probably, Bill," Lucky said with a shrug. "But I can't open a lock that isn't there to me." Ambrose stared at the wall in disbelief, shaking his head. "You want me to go in and take a look around, see if there's anything you want?"

"What I want is just to get in," Ambrose said. "There's a reason I can't see it when everyone else can, Lucky. Something important. I feel like…I feel like I need to see it. Like part of who I am is in there, and I'm being intentionally cut off from it."

"Chico, didn't you say something like that about the crystal? Ya know, the one in the staff library," Lucky said, gazing at the shop.

"It's a lot like that, Lucky," Ambrose agreed. "But this is a lot stronger."

"Great," Lucky said, knowing that meant he wasn't going to rest until he found a way in. But Lucky heard Jennifer calling for her, and turned to see her down the street with her hands on her hips. "I gotta go. You comin'? We're headin' to your mother's shop, you know."

"Nah, you go ahead," Ambrose said. Lucky walked down the street, looking behind her to see Ambrose crouching down with his arms over his knees, watching as people went in and out of the brick wall. Jennifer gazed at the situation with a frown, but didn't say anything when Lucky joined her, the girl lost in her own thoughts on the matter. Reluctantly, Jennifer walked to Ashley's shop but didn't bother to bring it up, for it was evident that Ashley already knew.

"It's positively heartbreaking, Severus," Jennifer told him after dropping Lucky off at home and heading to the castle. "If you only saw the longing in that boy's face…"  
"He'll get over it, Jennifer. He'll eventually realize it's pointless to sit there and he'll find something else to do," Severus said unworriedly, frowning at her. "To be blunt, it's a load off my mind to know he can't find it. But I thought you said you came here to work on the schedule?"

"I did, Severus," Jennifer sighed, tapping her clipboard distractedly. "And to see if Pyther's ready to run that painting test tonight. Do you suppose Pyther is going to be up to working after what happened last night?"

"I'm quite sure he will, if only to get his mind off of it," Severus said, shifting through his stack of papers to look at the contract he had written up. "Why don't you ask Ravenclaw to go down and see if he's awake yet? Once I'm done speaking with Pyther, I'll have him stop by Hermione's office so you can get him squared away with the schedule and put him on the regular payroll…I believe Hermione has him under 'miscellaneous' at the moment."

"Very well, Professor, but don't think I know you're only trying to get me out of your hair," Jennifer said, getting up.

"You're the Truth Seeker," Severus said curtly, waving the doors open for her. Smiling sarcastically at him, Jennifer walked out of the room. Severus shook his head as he watched her go, putting on his glasses and checking over the contract again.

As warm and hospitable as Corey's basement had been, the Memoriatorium was dry, cold, and dark; probably in many ways everything a crypt ought to be. Of course, that suited Francis' mood very well. Usually he felt better after a full day's sleep no matter what disagreeable even had happened to him the night before. But that evening he found he was just as angry as he had been the night before, effectively dulling the pang of regret he felt when he thought back over his words. Damn that girl! Why couldn't she have just left things alone? He pulled open his vault and pushed his way out, digging in his wardrobe in hopes of finding something clean left to wear. He found his thoughts turning briefly to Jangler, and he slumped to the ground, sobbing without tears, wishing he could erase the last few months of his life away.

Icarus watched him for a while before finally fading into view, and even then it seemed some time before Francis realized he was there.

"Good evening, Pyther. My, we are depressed tonight. In fact, it's making me depressed just looking at you," Icarus said.

"You were already depressed," Francis said venomously.

"How very true," Icarus agreed. "The Headmaster would like to speak with you about your new position. I understand you're to be filling in as staff until Professor Weasley returns."

"I believe the Headmaster simply wants to keep me under his thumb," Francis said, kicking out a pile of dirty clothes before finally finding a folded shirt in the pile.

"Possible," Icarus mused, watching him sort through his clothes with a mild sort of interest. "Why don't you leave your laundry out for the House Elves?"

"The House Elves?" Francis repeated, and then broke into a rather relieved smile. "Of course! I've had to do without so long I didn't think of it. You know, the next residence I get I really ought to look for a staffed house. There really aren't enough hours in the night for me to keep up with all that needs to be done."

"If you ask me, what you really need is a wife," Icarus said casually, unfazed by the freezing look he received in return. "At least to scold you into taking care of it yourself, if for no other reason."

"Why don't you stake me while you're on a roll, Ick. Isn't that a bit cruel even for you? You know very well that's impossible," Francis snapped.

"Really?" Icarus said thoughtfully. "I seem to recall a few years back the Ministry finally passing some sort of law saying that sentient dead could marry…signed by the Conscience Dead representative I think…oh, wait, that was you, wasn't it?"

"Now, you know that was all about a specific case…couple in Dover as I recall, died the night before they got married and they ascended soon after they completed the ceremony," Pyther said, tossing on his robe.

"Still, it might be worth taking advantage of under the right circumstances?" Icarus pressed.

"No it wouldn't, not under any circumstances. I am nothing but a corpse, Ick, animated by nothing more than other people's blood and ancient dark magic. I can neither have children or even be intimate with a woman…"

"Not without biting her right beforehand, you mean," Icarus said. "To make up the fact you have no blood of your own…"

"I wouldn't do it, Ick," Francis said firmly, closing the wardrobe and walking towards the crypt doors and trying to pretend he wasn't following right behind.

"Very well, so sex and children are out. But there is more to marriage than that, you know, Pyther, if you love each other…"

"If I loved someone that much, I'd have enough sense to let her go and allow her to have a normal relationship with someone else," Francis said curtly. "Let me be, Icarus, or so help me I'll bottle you and toss you in the lake!"

"Very well, Francis," Icarus sighed, fading away. "I must admit I don't envy you, or the decisions that lie ahead of you." Francis crumpled in the hall, leaning on the wall for support for a moment as he put his hand to his head, trying to keep his emotions from overwhelming him.

"Yes, and the first decision is whether or not I can make it up those stairs and pretend in front of her father that none of this matters," Francis murmured softly to himself.

Finally he pushed himself off the wall and up towards the main staircase, attempting to clear his mind of anything except where his feet were and to keep them moving, for every step seemed like an effort and he half wondered if he wasn't going to wake up on his back again. Finally he found himself on the right landing and wandered down the corridor to see the spiral staircase open to him. Now eager just to get it over with, Francis climbed up them and stepped in to see Headmaster Snape at his desk, peering at some paperwork through gold-rimmed spectacles.

"Have a seat, Pyther," Severus said, taking a moment to finish the line he was on and mark his place before setting it aside. "You'll be happy to know that the board decided to approve your reinstatement as a substitute. Fortunately for me, Dumbledore already waged that battle when you took over History, so between your official school record and certain mitigating circumstances due to the last board meeting, your appointment turned out to be practically a non-issue with only token protests…here it is, I believe you'll find it in order, six weeks with an option to extend it if so required. Have you eaten? You look a bit off color, even for you," he said abruptly, frowning at him.

"Um, to be honest, I hadn't even thought about it yet," Francis said quietly. Severus rolled his eyes.

"I swear, you are the only vampire I have ever met who doesn't constantly think about where his next meal is coming from," Severus said.

"I hardly take it for granted," Francis said defensively.

"Sure about that, are you?" Severus challenged, knowing the challenge wouldn't be answered. "You'll find a cabinet of your usual fare in your office. When we're done here, Jennifer will show you down to the Defense rooms to help set up your passwords and such and talk to you about the schedule before you work on those painting tests…"

"I'm sorry, sir, did you say Defense?" Francis said, staring at him as if he were mad.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Severus asked expressionlessly. Francis shook his head, but couldn't manage to get his vocal chords to work again. "I didn't feel quite comfortable with you teaching Charms, and Scribe, although quite brilliant in the fields of Magical History and technical composition really doesn't have the qualifications to teach anything else. Tonks is easily qualified, so she will be taking Charms, which means you will be filling in for her."

"And what of my qualifications sir?" Francis asked. "Because I don't see how I could possibly come close…"

"Are you trying to be obnoxiously modest or are you actually attempting to challenge my judgment?" Severus asked curtly. Francis opened his mouth, but nothing came out. "Teaching Defense is less about what's in a book and more about passing along one's own experiences so that others can learn from the instructors mistakes and on occasion from some of their triumphs. You have six centuries of experience in keeping your own rear in one piece. I'm sure there must be something there that can benefit them. Of course, there will be some book work you'll be required to cover in fifth and seventh year classes for OWLS and NEWTS, but other than that, I don't care what you do with them as long as you keep them alive."

"But…I'm a pacifist, sir…"

"Now you're starting to sound like Jennifer," Severus said with an exasperated sigh, taking off his spectacles. "I don't care if you are or you aren't. What does that have to do with Defense? There are hundreds of ways to take out an opponent without being lethal or even harmful that are quite effective. But if you don't want the job, just say so. It's probably too late for me to find someone else, so I'll simply cancel Defense and set up independent studies for the two years that need them." Pyther's jaw dropped at the thought of Snape canceling Defense at any given time, despite the fact at the moment he looked dead serious. "Oh, and make sure you stop by the Deputy Headmaster's Office and let Jennifer know too, especially considering she's spent the last few hours shifting the students evening activities around to make up for moving all the Defense classes to a night schedule."

"Oh, well, if she's gone to that much trouble…" Francis said, turning to the last page.

"Inconveniencing the school or me is one thing, but inconveniencing Jennifer is another is it?" Severus said dryly, making Francis look flustered again. "For once, I agree with you. And I don't think teaching Defense will be quite as bad as you imagine. Simply remember no matter what goes wrong that your primary goal while you are here is to teach them how to protect themselves from themselves. If you can get them to do that, teaching them how to defend themselves from the rest of the world will seem easy by comparison."

"That sounds almost like something Dumbledore would say," Francis said as he signed his name.

"Yes, well, I suppose that simply proves how much teachers can impact one, doesn't it?" Severus said expressionlessly. But somehow in Francis ears that sounded as much as a warning as a statement of praise for his mentor. The last thing Francis wanted to leave during his time teaching the unfamiliar subject was a negative impact.

He was thinking so fervently on how much he wanted to avoid doing so and soaking in everything Jennifer was trying to cram into him about teaching Defense that his personal burdens had been effectively dulled for several hours until it was obvious that Jennifer began to get restless, glancing at the late hour.

"I am going to need to head home soon," she admitted reluctantly, straightening a stack of old tests she had brought out for him to look over. "I don't suppose you have that compartment painting ready for some tests?"

"Not quite, but I could probably have it finished for tomorrow night," Francis said.

"Hm, I still have some shopping to do. I still haven't figured out what to get Severus, he's so impossible to buy for," Jennifer sighed. "And then of course the night after is Christmas Eve. Are you going to Natalie's party?"

"Only long enough to drop off some gifts. Hopefully I'll be out of there before anything turns hostile," Francis said in such a tone that Jennifer gazed at him with a sympathetic smile.

"Well, it's none of my business what you do, of course, but have some sense to find some friends and don't spend Christmas alone, Pyther," Jennifer advised. "I'll be back at work officially on Boxing Day, although I'll be around. But we can work on those tests then. Could you just set the test painting up in the potion room when you have it done?"

"Of course, Jennifer. Have a good holiday in case I don't see you," he added. Jennifer smiled warmly at him.

"Happy Christmas, Pyther. But hopefully I'll see you at Corey's," she said before slipping out of the room.

Francis looked around his new office but somehow felt deflated again. Gazing at all the papers on his desk without Jennifer there seemed a bit overwhelming. Perhaps he had had enough for one night, Francis decided, turning instead to the idea of getting that test painting finished. He carefully made his way down the temporary stairs to the dungeon, pausing only a moment to gaze at the stacks of stone blocks in the lab, an obvious sign they would be working on repairing the outer walls soon.

Jennifer had mentioned that Hermione was setting up a dinner event and an auction in the spring to help pay for it and began to wonder which of his paintings would be worth donating. He opened up his wardrobe and pulled out the painting of a pair of hands holding a box first; the one he was working on for the experiment. He then paused to flip through his arctic prints before pausing to look over the complex Lupin family portrait he still needed another couple of sessions to finish, musing when he should try and get to Ireland to do it. He put it back and looked over the one he had done of Corey's five children, smiling softly as Destiny tried to get the better of Natalie's hair while Hope and Charles constantly fought for space on the couch and little Amber fussed with a witch doll and sucked her thumb when she didn't think anyone was looking. How fond he had become of them, and in so short a time! Even after an evening, he missed sitting at the table at dinner and wondered if they had missed his presence as well. Shaking his head at himself, Francis put the painting back, grabbed his kit, and headed upstairs. When had his life gotten so complicated?

The answer came swiftly as he entered Jennifer's classroom, for in no more time than it took him to turn around, his eyes fell on the portrait of Alicia and those adoring green eyes and laughing smile fixed on him with open admiration.

Francis frowned at it. He had seen that painting nearly every night since it had been found, but suddenly it seemed unfamiliar to him…strange…off. Setting the test painting down, he went over to it, wondering what was wrong. Was it just that he had gotten so used to how she was now that it didn't seem like the same person? It would have made sense if that was it, but something told him that wasn't all. It wasn't only that she was so different than she was now, he realized. The painting didn't seem to portray the young girl he remembered either. It seemed shallow; two-dimensional…it completely lacked the soul in his paintings that he was best known for. Was it that she was being dishonest to him when he had interviewed her? Children of that age tended to be unsure of themselves…perhaps it was simply that she hadn't figured out who she was yet. No, he thought, shaking his head even as he thought of it. Yes, she had been holding back…now that at least was obvious why…but dishonest was another thing. Alicia always knew who she was, even at that age. Even before then. So the only other conclusion was that the painter must have been dishonest in his portrayal.

Francis yanked the painting off the wall with full intentions of chucking it in the closet and found himself putting it on an easel instead. He grabbed a large brush and poured out am enormous amount of white paint and a bit of charmed linseed to wipe the painting clean…only to find himself staring the white paint before other colors were added to the palette as well, the darker tones overshadowing the lighter ones he had started with long before the brush touched the surface with a gentle, steady hand. He wasn't even aware any time had passed until his watch warned him of the approaching dawn.

Jennifer could never make up her mind who was harder to shop for; Lucky or Severus. In Lucky's case, it was more about her not understanding exactly what it was in her face the girl was wanting, for most of the time it was something Muggle. In Severus' case, it was the lack of wanting anything. Fortunately, Jennifer finally found something Lucky might like (despite Severus' vocal doubts upon learning what Jennifer had in mind), but Severus was another story. As much as she hated spending very long in Myrkenbrek, she thought it might offer some sort of solution. She also brought Lucky to see if she had any passing interest in anything there to add another small item or two to the pile. But Lucky wasn't too happy about how much time Jennifer ended up spending in the bookstore and had absolutely no interest at all, it seemed, in the jewelry shop. Tassels and Panning were at Jennifer's beckon call from the moment she walked in, but Severus had more than his fair share of cufflinks, and he really didn't wear anything else short of his wedding ring and snoop chain. She was half tempted to go into Grendelbane's since it was across the street, but he certainly didn't need a new wand, and the goblin was likely to be too busy this time of the year for a social visit.

"So now what, Jackie?" Lucky asked impatiently. "Lunch?" Lucky had been hungry for a while, and the bag of chestnuts she had earlier really wasn't cutting through it.

"No, not here. I really couldn't relax here," Jennifer said with a sigh. "Well, there's no helping it now. There can be only one possible shop that could have something Severus either wants or needs, and that's Toby's. I hope Severus doesn't give me too hard of a time for going there," Jennifer added with a grin. "Come on, let's head to the entry dome and take the Hogsmeade port. We'll grab lunch at the Brooms…I need to have a quick word with Dumbledore anyhow…then we'll head to the shop."

"What's so special about that shop anyhow? Why wouldn't the Professor want you to go there?" Lucky asked.

"Oh…well, it's rather complicated, Lucky. Let's just say that shop is one of a kind," Jennifer said with a grin.

"Yeah, but how come it won't let Ambrose in?" Lucky asked. Jennifer sighed and looked troubled by the question, but didn't seem any more willing to answer her than she had the day before.

"There's a reason, Lucky," Jennifer said as they stepped up to the portal, but when they landed just outside the Three Brooms, Jennifer conveniently forgot the conversation and had Rosmerta set Lucky up with a Snitch in the Mud and a plate of meat rolls and chips before slipping to the back. Rosmerta followed behind her, and by the time Lucky's ice cream melted into her drink for a pleasantly sloppy treat, Jennifer and Rosmerta came back out again, Rosmerta immediately checking on her other waitresses while Jennifer headed over to the table with a smile. "Well, at least now I feel like I've accomplished something today," she said, plucking off one of the meat rolls and waited until one of the girls dropped off a steaming, lightly spiced cup of coffee in front of her. "Pyther was so down after what happened at Yule that I was a bit afraid he'd cut himself off, so Albus and Rosmerta are going to arrange a small party here Christmas night so he won't be left out."

"I dunno, sure that's good for him? I mean, maybe he just wants to be alone for awhile," Lucky shrugged. Jennifer shook her head, carefully drinking her coffee.

"Sometimes being alone with one's own thoughts for too long can be pretty harmful, especially when everything seems to be going wrong," Jennifer explained. "I'd be worried about Alicia too if I didn't know that Alex was keeping her busy with the baby and Aurelius wasn't close by to dog her out of her room any time she locks herself up for too long," she said. Then she chuckled, shaking her head. "You know, when she was little, she reminded everyone of my mother, both in looks and temperament. But right now she reminds me of my father on a bad day."

"That's funny, because I've heard a lot of people say it's your temper she's got," Lucky said. Jennifer gave her a dirty look.

"Finish up so we can go to Toby's," she said, a tone in her voice warning Lucky not to push her luck. But the girl simply grinned, guzzling down her drink and would have wiped her mouth on her sleeve had Jennifer not been a second quicker to react.

As they wandered down the road, Jennifer heard her name and looked over to see Ashley standing in the door of her shop, positioned as if she had been leaning in the door for some time looking down at the cross street. As Jennifer wandered close enough to peer down the side street, she sighed as she saw Ambrose sitting on the curb across from the brick wall, staring at it.

"Lucky, um…why don't you go say hello to Ambrose?" Jennifer suggested.

"From the looks of it, he's not going to be doing much talking," Lucky said with a shrug, but walked slowly down the street towards him while Jennifer stepped over to Ashley.

"This is awful," Ashley said, Jennifer nodding silently. "What am I to do? I can't go against the Agreements set in place, and yet he'll go and sit there at any opportunity. Corey asked him to work at the shop for some spending money, and Rose offered to pay him if he'd help her weed, but he's not interested in any of that. Winnie came over for a few hours today, and she, Natalie, and Hope tried to get him to walk to Honeydukes or the Grove with them, and he wasn't interested in any of that either. All he does is sit there and watch as people come out of that shop with everything from music boxes to charmed screwdrivers. Dumbledore came out this morning with a pair of socks, and for some reason thought it was quite amusing. He tried to talk Ambrose off the curb with a double chocolate malt with extra whip cream. I suppose I could ask him to come in and stay in until he's gone, but…oh, Jennifer, I want them to meet," Ashley admitted. "I know it's not time. I know he's not ready to hear the truth. But this isn't fair. I may be the only parent on his birth certificate, Jennifer, and 'no obligations' may be in the wording of that silly Agreement, but that doesn't make him any less his father and it certainly doesn't make Ambrose any less his son."

"I agree with you," Jennifer said. "Ashley, if it's your Agreement that's keeping you from marching him in there, I'd say the hell with it."

"I already tried, Jennifer," Ashley admitted, shaking her head. "But apparently, it isn't my Agreement that's the problem, because that didn't work either," Jennifer gazed at her with a frown. "It's the one Severus made with him when he promised to be his godfather and putting Severus in charge of the boy's education and training."

"Severus wouldn't agree unless Toby promised not to interfere," Jennifer said with a nod. "Including any interference by selling or giving him anything out of Toby's shop, as I recall. Fine, if that has to be done, it has to be done, but I'll be hanged if that means leaving him out in the cold like that. Can I borrow your owl?" Jennifer asked.

"Sure, but what are you going to do?" Ashley asked, leading her into the shop.

"What else? I'm going to get Severus here. Even if he doesn't want to bend on the issue, he still needs to see what's going on for himself," Jennifer said, writing a quick note.

Even with the packed shop and the swift business, Toby the Tinker still stopped short when Jennifer walked into the shop and gave her an enigmatic smile and winked at her. But Lucky was too amazed by the shop to notice either the wink or how quickly Jennifer's face turned red. Lucky had never seen anything like it. Shelves lined every wall and down the center of the aisles, packed with such a wide range of assorted gadgets, gizmos, and even very common items, simple gifts to some that she couldn't fathom anyone wanting.

As Jennifer began to walked towards the front, she paused in front of a very ornate mirror long enough to take a quick gaze at the thoughts rushing through her head, straightening her hair a bit to offer a second explanation. Up front Toby broke into a chuckle, and Jennifer looked over to see the wizened figure shaking his head at her.

"I think the last thing you need is another mirror, my dear," Toby said with a smile. "But I must say, not even your reflection truly does you justice."

"Eloquent as always, Mr. Toby," Jennifer said with a grin, feeling another rush of heat in her cheeks and tugged Lucky up beside her for protection. "I was hoping to find something for my husband, really. He's impossible to buy for."

"Ah, well, there's always licorice," Toby teased with another wink. "But, I'm sure there's an item or two in here for him, Mrs. Snape. And who is this with you, might I ask?"

"This is our daughter, Fortuna Snape," Jennifer said with a proud smile. Fortuna watched the old man warily.

"What a very beautiful name you have, my dear," Toby said warmly.

"Ya. Everyone calls me Lucky," Lucky said, even more unsure about him than she had been a moment ago.

"Lucky…Lucky…descriptive, I suppose, but definitely not as pretty," Toby said, glancing up at Jennifer who was trying to hide her amusement. "And I for one never thought I'd hear 'Lucky' paired with 'Snape' at any time. I thought your husband didn't approve of such things?"

"He calls her Fortuna," Jennifer grinned.

"Yes, I think I shall too," Toby decided.

"It's Lucky," Lucky said flatly.

"Beautiful and stubborn. Yes, she fits right in with your family, doesn't she?" Toby said, Jennifer breaking into a blush for the third time, clearing her throat. "Why don't you have a look around, Fortuna? You might find anything in here, you know. Sometimes even I don't know what's in here," he added, winking at the suspicious girl.

"How about a way to see through a brick wall?" Lucky asked.

"Lucky!" Jennifer said with a frown. But Toby simply smiled thinly at her.

"If it were mine to sell, young lady, I'm afraid someone would have already beat you to it, since you're not the first one to ask," he said gently.

"Fine, but I'm not coming out of here 'til I find something for him," Lucky snapped then started looking. Jennifer sighed softly, but she noticed a familiar twinkle in the old man's eyes and knew in that instant she hadn't been the only one to go that route either.

Outside, Ambrose pulled his cloak closer to him against the cold as Jennifer and Lucky had begun searching the shelves for their perfect gifts. The last one to have come out had a plush bear that moved its legs and growled when the little girl holding it shook it. The one before was a bearded man who had come out with a folded razor. But what he was eagerly waiting for most was Lucky, to see what she bought and describe the shop itself, knowing if anyone was willing to talk to him about it, she would be. His gaze was so intense on the spot of brick wall he had seen people walk out of that he didn't notice someone come up beside him.

"What are you doing here?" said a voice that made Ambrose leap up in surprise. He turned around to see his godfather standing there looking none to pleased to see him there.

"Sitting," Ambrose said.

"In the middle of the street, in the middle of winter, staring at a brick wall?" Severus asked dubiously. Ambrose brightened.

"Do you only see a brick wall too?" he asked hopefully. He wouldn't feel anywhere near as bad about it if the Headmaster himself couldn't get in.

"If I did, I certainly wouldn't be wasting my time staring at it as if I hadn't ever seen a brick wall before," Severus said sternly. But Ambrose's face fell, knowing full well that Severus saw the shop too. "Why don't you go help your brother in his shop? From what I saw when I passed by he could use it."

"I don't want to," Ambrose said glumly.

"I'm sure Rose is probably doing some baking today…"

"If it's all the same, I'll just stay here, thanks," Ambrose said. Severus frowned, reaching in his pocket. "And don't try to bribe me with Honeydukes money either, they tried that too."

"Very well, suit yourself," Severus said with a shrug. "All the same, it's a foolish and pointless way to spend your holiday."

"It's my time though, isn't it?" Ambrose said, sitting back down.

"I suppose," Severus frowned. He glanced down the street towards his mother's shop thoughtfully and then towards Toby's before finally making up his mind and going inside.

"How come there are no prices?" Lucky was asking Jennifer.

"There aren't any here, you pay what you think it's worth," Jennifer explained.

"Oh, you mean like all those travel agencies on the internet that say you can pay what you want but everything you're looking for in your price range is marked unavailable?" Lucky said.

"Um…no idea," Jennifer admitted then saw Severus standing in the doorway, a few of the shoppers greeting him nervously when they saw the dangerous look on his face. "Why, Severus, what are you doing here?"

"Finding out what you're up to."

"Severus, all I said was we were dropping by here to get presents for Ambrose…"

"Exactly. You knew I wouldn't approve," Severus said with irritation.

"Well, I don't care if the Professor approves or not. I'm getting something for Ambrose," Lucky said stubbornly.

"Good afternoon, Severus!" Toby interrupted, calling out from the front of the shop while digging under the counter. "Are you early? I'm afraid I haven't quite found the item you wanted to buy just yet, but I'm sure it'll turn up when you're ready for it."

"I didn't come in here to buy anything," Severus said flatly.

"Yes, that would explain why it's not here, then, wouldn't it?" said Toby, still looking under the counter.

"I came in here to keep these two out of trouble," Severus finished, looking at Jennifer.

"Oh! Good luck," Toby chuckled, then turned back to the customer at the counter.

"I also want to know how long he's been out there."

"Who, Severus?" Toby asked after he thanked the man who had put points in the jar for a cat collar.

"Ambrose, who else would be sitting out there?" Severus snapped.

"Ah, well, I wouldn't know one way or the other, Severus. I can't see him," Toby said bluntly. "If I try to look, I simply see a brick wall. Why don't you just go back out there and tell him to move along?"

"I just tried, and apparently quite a number of other people have tried as well," Severus said. Toby shrugged.

"Then let him sit there, I suppose, it can't be helped, can it? I'm not about to be the one to go against a magically bound Agreement, Severus," Toby said, then smiled at a girl putting coins in the jar for a toothbrush. "Thank you very much. Have you found what you were looking for, Mrs. Snape?"

"Um, no, I'm afraid not," Jennifer said.

In fact, she was so busy watching Severus she hadn't been looking. He had gone over to the window and was staring out at the boy, knowing that all the while Ambrose was sitting there he was most likely thinking of everything he may have done wrong in the past and wondering which might have caused him to be singled out in such a way.

"Enough," Severus growled at last. "This is wrong, and I can't possibly allow it to go any further." As he stormed out the door, Jennifer broke into a beaming smile and pushed her way over to the window, Lucky dropping what she was looking at and doing the same as Severus went across the street.

Ambrose, still waiting for Lucky, blinked in surprise when Severus came out, eyes fixed on him as he strode over and crouched beside him.

"I will make a deal with you, Mr. Bailey, although you'll find it won't be an easy one," Severus said, Ambrose sitting up straighter in response. "If you make an Agreement with me not to buy anything from that shop or accept any gifts from its keeper, I will allow you to go in."

"What's the point of going in the shop if I'm not allowed to buy anything?" Ambrose asked carefully.

"Yes, well, that's for you to decide," Severus said. "Have you been sitting out here just for the sake of having a chance to buy a present or is it because of something else? Either way, I would like to get both myself and you off this curb and back to what we should be doing, so I would appreciate it if you made up your mind and either take my offer or go do something somewhere else."

Ambrose chewed on his lip a moment and stared at the brick wall, but it didn't take him long to realize that missing part of him he was looking for wasn't something that could be bought. It was the shop itself, not the items inside that was the key. That the option to go in was not offered freely was beside the point; Ambrose doubted that his godfather would be willing to make it again.

"All right, I'll do it," Ambrose said.

"Then take my hand, and I'll set up the Agreement," Severus said, offering his hand. "And be warned if you break that Agreement without me releasing you from it first that you will never see that shop again. Ever." Ambrose gazed at him warily for a moment then finally took his hand. A tingle went through him then, and he heard strange words in the back of his head…ancient words that shook him to the core to the point where he almost felt he could understand them. He heard the semblance of his own voice repeating those words back in his mind, and this time he knew it was simply the spell's way of confirming the promise and making sure he meant it.

Finally Severus stood, and Ambrose felt the voices fade completely away from his mind. The Professor then shook his hand out in front of him for a moment or two until the last of the tingle left it before he offered to Ambrose again.

"Very well, Ambrose, come along," Severus said, snapping his fingers impatiently to have the boy's hand and then helped him to his feet.

"But it's still a wall," Ambrose said, a bit afraid of what happened the last time he had tried to walk through it.

"It won't be," Severus said, holding onto Ambrose firmly until he reached out with his other hand and opened the door. For a split second, Ambrose could see both the shop door and the wall itself, the door simply seeming to open into it. But in the time it took him to blink, Ambrose saw only the shop, and Jennifer and Lucky's faces peering out from over the top of the curtain in the window as he stepped inside.

Severus only gave them a cursory look before walking Ambrose directly up to a wizened gnomish shopkeeper with a pair of blue eyes so sharp and filled with wonder that Ambrose could have sworn he had seen them before.

"Mr. Toby, this is Ambrose Bailey. I believe you know his mother, for she owns the shop down the street," Severus said casually.

"Ah yes, she's a good friend of mine," Mr. Toby said, smiling warmly at the boy. His voice seemed strangely familiar too. "I had hoped to meet you. Perhaps not optimistically, but I had hoped…my goodness, where in the world did you get that dark hair of yours?" Severus squinted at Toby warningly. As if on cue, Aurelius suddenly burst through the door, startling a couple looking over the music boxes as he stood there, panting.

"All right, who did something they shouldn't have?" Aurelius asked curtly, wondering who put the secret he was guarding in jeopardy this time. Toby immediately pointed at Severus, while Jennifer was attempting to do it more discreetly. Aurelius blinked at his father in surprise, and Severus smiled painfully in response.

"Ah! Here is what you've been looking for, Jennifer!" Toby interrupted, pulling out a very large, already wrapped package from under the counter. Jennifer grinned nervously, wondering what exactly she was giving Severus this year as she filled the jar with coins. "Haven't found it yet, Fortuna? Perhaps you will later," he offered with a smile. "And as for you, Mr. Bailey, buying restrictions or not, do feel free to come by and visit me anytime."

"How did you know about that?" Ambrose asked curiously. Aurelius glared at his father.

"Because he put the same sort of restrictions on me," Toby said with a thin smile. "Thank you, Severus."

"You're already making me regret it," Severus sighed. "Come along, Ambrose, I need to talk to your mother."

"Yes, but do come again soon, Mr. Bailey, and next time, don't bring him," Toby suggested in a low voice, pointing to Severus. Ambrose grinned, Aurelius groaned, Lucky frowned with confusion, and Jennifer watched her husband searchingly, while Severus simply turned and shooed them all out the door, wondering how much trouble his momentary streak of compassion was going to cause him.


	33. Tinkering

Chapter Thirty-Three

Tinkering

That evening Francis made a valiant effort of getting some class work done and began by reviewing what each year had covered to that point and make notes and comparisons of what they had covered with the new books and what they might have missed from previous years. But it was when he got to third year's section on twenty different ways of killing a vampire and its index on salvageable vampire parts for components and potions that Francis suddenly decided he needed a break.

It took him little time once he got started to add enough dimension to his 'box in hands' painting to get the right effect, waiting for it to dry before taking a tube of paint and tossing it in the box and getting it out again. Nodding in satisfaction, he set it aside to dry further, glad to have his mind clear enough to pull the Alicia portrait out of the closet and take the drape off, looking it over speculatively. Her face was much more detailed, much older now, and that did make the white dress seem too young for her. But he had tossed and turned all day in his sleep thinking about how to fix it. Taking out his favorite Nightmare brush, the one…ironically enough…Alicia had once given him as a Christmas present, he had begun mixing up blacks, purples, and greys before beginning to outline a more mature gown. Then he concentrated on lowering her neckline a tad, pausing as he debated whether to add a necklace to a much too enticingly bare neck, sucking on the end of his brush thoughtfully.

"Sorry about the brush," said a voice from right behind him. Francis jumped up in surprise and terror, nearly knocking the painting over. He dropped the brush in his hand to steady the painting, and then whirled around, still trembling noticeably despite his look of anger. As he turned, he heard the sound of a snap and realized he had stepped on his good brush, and then growled ferociously. "My goodness, I hope you don't jump about like that while teaching class," Icarus said thoughtfully, his expression unusually sane. "The students will eat you alive."

"My Nightmare hair brush!" Francis exclaimed, picking it up and growled at the broken handle. "Do you know how hard these are to replace?"

"I did say I was sorry, Francis," Icarus said sincerely.

"Yes, before the fact," Francis pointed out, attempting to piece the handle together until he realized the bristles had been damaged from him stepping on it as well. "I suppose you came to criticize my work."

"No, not really, I'd rather wait until it's done," Icarus said, but gazed at it thoughtfully. "So you're changing the dress? I don't think I've seen her wearing anything like it."

"It's a composite of a dress my mother once wore and one of Jennifer's velvet dresses, and the color is simply because Alicia wears no other color. But if it's all the same, I'd rather work in private, Ick," Francis said, gazing at his other brushes with a frown. "Looks like the dress will have to wait until I order a new one anyhow."

"I know, perhaps you ought to try Toby's shop. I bet he has one," Icarus said. "It might not be too late to try tonight, this close to the holidays and all."

"I have no intention of going in that shop," Francis said, cleaning off his palette.

"Surely you're not mad at him about that Paradox painting, considering you yourself have found it quite useful," Icarus said, but Francis tried to ignore him, rubbing off his hands with a clean cloth. "I was just thinking that while you're there you might ask him about that rogue painting problem we've been having. If anyone has any idea on how to find that painting of Merlin, he will."

"I must admit, you do have a point," Francis said thoughtfully, carefully covering the portrait and sliding it back in the closet. "Very well, I doubt he'll still be open considering it's after ten, but I suppose I shall try."

"Could you run an errand to the Divine Vision for me too? They're open until midnight," Icarus said brightly.

"I should have known there was something in this for you," Francis said dryly, but accepted the floating list when it was offered to him.

A gentle snow was falling when Francis Apparated into town, and he could hear the sound of singing in the distance, although he couldn't really tell where it was coming from. Perhaps someone was having an early Christmas party, he thought, wondering if carolers would be out that late. True enough, the Divine Vision was still open when he passed by, as was Willowby's Wands and Weeds…but knowing the old man was likely enough to close early than not decided to check there first. But once he say the sign in the window stating, '_Open until Midnight on the 23rd for my nocturnal patrons_,' Francis knew he was expected.

Toby sat at the counter reading, for the shop itself was empty. The horned wooden owl perched on a shelf behind him hooted a greeting when Francis came in, and Toby looked up with a warm smile.

"Ah, Pyther! How good to see you again. If you're looking for a brush, I believe I saw some earlier, so they must be on one of these first two shelves somewhere," Toby said, frowning at the cluttered shelves as if wondering where he had seen them.

"Thank you, sir, that is what I'm looking for," Francis agreed. But as he walked to the front, he caught a figure out of the corner of his eye and glanced around, jumping in terror when he saw it was another vampire. The shelf behind him kept him from falling and he was able to catch himself, barely hearing Toby's gentle voice cautioning him to be careful. Francis blinked. So did the vampire. His jaw dropped. So did the other vampire's. Incredulously, he gazed up and realized he was simply looking in an ornate mirror.

"But that's me!" Francis said in amazement. He stepped to one side and watched his image leave, then peered around the corner only to see his own blinking eyes again. He walked across it, watching the reflection follow him, then finally stood looking at himself straight on, opening his eyes wide so he could see the color better, staring at himself. He opened his mouth again, staring at his teeth and touching the front of one of his fangs experimentally before trying to slick back his hair, frowning at the mottled grey and purplish skin on his face thoughtfully. "Goodness, I'm an ugly old git, aren't I?"

"You sound rather surprised," Toby said with amusement.

"Well, I wasn't all that bad looking when I was alive, you know," Francis said, turning his head to the side to try and get a better look at his profile.

"I hear that death tends to be rather hard on one's looks," Toby said with a nod. "That different, is it?"

"Well, yes, but it isn't just that. I expected to look more like the portrait Alicia did of me when she was a student…although…" he suddenly chuckled and shook his head. "I suppose knowing how mine was of her I should have expected it." Toby simply smiled at him until Francis finally looked away from his reflection. "Just how exactly did you manage it, anyhow?"

"I suppose that's what I should be asking you," Toby said, pulling one of his figurines out from under the counter to whittle on. "That mirror has a rather curious quirk, you see, in that it only reflects kind mortal souls."

"Really? Then why is it showing me? I'm immortal…"

"Depends I think on your definition of mortal," Toby said with a shrug, raising his wooden sculpture to examine the grain before continuing. "Your flesh may be just an animated corpse, but what's in it is still a human soul, just as much as if you'd died that day. That you see yourself in that mirror simply means you haven't condemned it yet."

"You mean I'm not condemned just by being a vampire?" Francis said, putting a hand to his head in relief. "Thank goodness, that is a weight off my mind!"

"Well, let's not get too confident about that fact, dear boy, you can still very well mess that up, you know," Toby said, shaking his whittling knife at him warningly. "I have a feeling it is going to be tested and tested brutally in the days ahead."

"But it will be my doing, not this abominable curse I'm inflicted with," Francis murmured.

"I would say that's a given," Toby agreed. "I suppose you want the mirror now?"

"Want it?" Francis said with surprise, looking at himself again before shrugging. "No, I don't think so, what would be the point of it? Now that I know my curse in and of itself doesn't condemn me, I think I know enough about right and wrong to know if I have sold my soul or not." Toby smiled warmly at him and took a rather ornate set of brushes off the shelf. "Besides, who on Earth would want to wake up looking at that mug every day?"

"Since you have made the most sensible purchase I have sold today, I will be kind and refrain from answering that question," Toby said mischievously, carefully wrapping the set in brown paper before Francis had a chance to inspect them.

"Thank you," Francis said dryly. "There was a Nightmare hair brush, yes? I do tend to work in dark colors, after all…"

"That and more, I assure you," Toby smiled as Francis poured a handful of galleons in. "Thank you, Francis, and I do hope you have a good Christmas."

"Thank you, you have one as well," Francis said.

It wasn't until he was halfway to the Divine Vision that it occurred to him he forgot to ask about the rogue painting, but by the time that he got Icarus' order and headed back, the shop was closed for the evening.

Bright and early the next morning, the morning of Christmas Eve, the shops of Hogsmeade brushed the snow off their entry mats and opened their doors, and Toby was no exception, as bright and fresh as the sun rising to a clear, crisp day. Not a moment after his mother released him from breakfast, Ambrose ran into the shop and straight over to the counter, looking full of energy but a bit out of breath.

"Hullo, Mr. Toby! Can I help?" Ambrose asked. Toby blinked at him in complete surprise.

"Help what?" he asked.

"Help with the shop! I know all about helping around a shop, what with my brother's and Mum's and all, but they have help and you don't, so…"

"I don't usually need help, Mr. Bailey, the shop does tend to look after itself, you know," Toby explained. "The shelves pretty much stock themselves, and there are no prices to set, as you know, and Archimedes up there makes sure everyone stays honest." Ambrose stared at the wooden owl as if noticing it for the first time. In turn, the owl seemed to be staring at him too, hooting questioningly.

"Wow, he's amazing. He acts just like a real owl," Ambrose said. "Can you teach me how to carve?" Toby cleared his throat.

"You can learn yourself if you have a mind to. All you need is a good knife and a stick, you know," he said. Ambrose made a face.

"Mum still says she doesn't think I'm responsible enough for a pocket knife, although I think she's still nervous after I accidentally took my thumb off trying to make my own wand when I turned seven," Ambrose explained, looking at his left hand and wriggling his thumb. "It's all better now, but she still won't let me live it down!"

"Now, now, Mother knows best," Toby clucked, attempting not to appear amused. "Are you seriously trying to offer help, or are you simply looking for an excuse to hang about?"

"Well, maybe a little of both," Ambrose admitted with a grin. "Can I stay?"

"I don't think your godfather would approve of you spending too much time here, Mr. Bailey…"

"He didn't ever say anything to me about not hanging around the shop, he said he wanted me off the curb. And I am off the curb. And he said he didn't want me shopping here, but he never said anything about me not working here, did he?" Ambrose blurted out, apparently having worked it all out in advance. Toby couldn't hide the fact that he thought it was very funny.

"You are a boy after my own heart, Mr. Bailey. I don't suppose you know how to use a broom short of riding it?" Toby suggested.

"Sure!" Ambrose said enthusiastically. "But I think the sidewalk outside ought to be cleared first so nobody slips or anything. I'll do that first," he suggested before Toby could protest, grabbing a shovel and broom that had appeared just behind Toby's counter before hurrying outside. Toby chuckled openly, the owl hooting questioningly again.

"Well, what was I to do? Try and stop him?" Toby asked the owl. As if in response, the owl hopped down to Toby's shoulder, nipping on his ear playfully before hooting again. Toby tilted his head a moment, glancing sideways at the bird. "Do you think so? Perhaps you're right about that, Archimedes. And I think you just gave me an idea on how we can get away with it, too," he murmured to the bird, but then got distracted a moment later when a customer came up to the counter, the owl flapping up to his perch on the back shelf in response.

When Ambrose came in rosy-cheeked, Toby was quick to produce a wooden stool, placing it in the far corner on the shop side of the counter for him to sit on and then poured him a steaming hot cup of cocoa out of his water pitcher. Ambrose gazed at it suspiciously, but was a little than a more afraid that asking too many questions would land him out of the shop so simply thanked him and drank it. In a way he was glad it was hot enough that he had to drink it slowly, for it gave him lots of time to observe all the wonderful and sometimes odd things that each individual managed to find, let alone wanted to purchase. Rosmerta came in and went out with a case of straws, while a rather harried looking witch mother with a five year old came in and bought a single wooly mitten, promptly putting it on the boy's bare left hand right after putting her money in the jar. Amazingly enough the mitten she bought, which had been grey at the time, suddenly changed colors and as even as they left, the young boy found himself staring at a matching set of red mittens. It had been even more impressive, however, when Cynn Brogan came in and managed to pull out a full-sized ladder off the bottom shelf, while many others left with fascinating small toy animals and music boxes and noisemakers for children waiting at home.

"What a great place to people-watch!" Ambrose declared as he sipped his cocoa.

"People-watch?" Toby asked with an enigmatic smile.

"Yeah, it's like window shopping in reverse!" Ambrose said, Toby looking even more amused.

"Of course, it's rather the whole point of it all, you know," Toby said mischievously, but then paused, looking at him with concern. "By the way, do you have something in your ear?" Ambrose admittedly did feel something funny about his left ear and had been wondering about it, when suddenly the wooden owl swooped down and landed on his shoulder, nipping at it.

"Hey, what are you up to!" Ambrose said with surprise at the owl, who hopped on the counter with a galleon in his beak.

"Mr. Bailey, your head is not a piggy bank. Do stop that," Toby frowned at him.

"Isn't mine!" Ambrose protested, clearing his ear experimentally. The owl flew back up to his perch, still holding onto the coin.

"I do believe he thinks it's his," Toby chuckled, the scolded the bird gently. "Now, that wasn't nice, picking on the boy like that!" Ambrose simply grinned and got up, shoving the stool aside and managing to find the broom again to sweep the floor. He was just about done when Rose, Hope, Amber, and Winifred Brim arrived all exclaiming Ambrose's name in surprise when they saw him.

"How did you get in here?" Hope demanded.

"The door," Ambrose grinned.

"I wondered where you've been hiding. I'd have expected you'd have been over at our house trying to scope out your presents by now," Rose said, shaking her head at him, before glancing up at Toby who smiled warmly at them. "I don't suppose my father-in-law knows that Ambrose is here doing manual labor?" she teased.

"Why? Do you think Severus would pitch in and do the windows for me?" Toby asked.

"Look at the curious wooden owl with the coin in his mouth!" said Winnie, who hadn't ever been in the shop before.

"Yeah, he got it out of my ear," Ambrose said.

"Please, that's such an old trick," Hope said with exasperation.

"Really? Just how many wooden owls do you know who can do it?" Ambrose challenged her. Archimedes tried to hoot in response, somehow managing to still hold onto the coin at the same time.

"What do you have there, Amber?" Rose asked as she noticed the young girl had already managed to pull something off one of the shelves. Amber seemed reluctant to open her hand, shaking her head.

"I bet it's a Christmas present for her mother," Toby said with a knowing smile. Amber nodded at him once. "Well, now, it wouldn't do at all to have you see it before tomorrow, would it?"

"Fine, I'll go look out the window a moment, but it had better not be something expensive…"

"I'll have her pick something else out if it's not appropriate," Toby promised with a smile. Not really trusting Toby completely, Rose still sighed resignedly and went over to look out the window. "Now, let me see what we have here."

"I've got her," Winnie said, picking the girl up and bringing her over to the counter. Reluctantly, Amber opened up her hand.

"Why, it's just a…" Hope was quickly shushed, staring dubiously at a large seed about the size of an acorn.

"It's absolutely perfect, you have excellent taste in gifts, Miss Amber Willowby," Toby said with a smile, getting a tiny box out. "Why don't you put it in there and I will wrap it for you." Amber watched carefully as he wrapped it to make sure it was still the same box, and as he sat it on the counter, Winnie whispered something in her ear. Amber took out her pink Princess Witch purse and took out a knut, sticking it in the jar while eyeing the shop keeper, who simply smiled at her. Sizing him up for a moment, she put a second one in the jar before she seemed satisfied, reaching for her box.

"Thank you very much, that was very generous of you," Toby told the girl with a smile, holding his hand over the jar when Winnie tried to supplement it.

"Is it safe?" Rose asked.

"Is it ever safe in my shop?" Toby asked in reply.

"No," Rose laughed, but turned back around. "All right, Hope, enough stalling, you have to get Natalie a gift."

"Yes, Mum," Hope sighed, eyeing a lot more things she would be interested in much more than her older sister.

"How about a broom kit?" Ambrose suggested, pointing it out on the shelf.

"We're not getting her a broom for her birthday," Rose said warningly.

"All right, Christmas then," Ambrose said.

"Now, now, no interfering," Toby chided Ambrose.

"He can't help it, it's in his blood," Rose said daringly. "Find something, Winnie?"

"A Fomorian palace for Natalie's aquarium," Winnie said, putting it on the counter and looking at the owl again as it nipped at the coin experimentally. "What do you suppose he's going to do with that?"

"A wise owl would save his coin for a rainy day," Toby smiled.

"But Christmas isn't for saving money, it's for spending it," Hope protested. "Mum, can I just get Natalie something at Honeydukes? I can't seem to find her anything here."

"You're not getting yourself anything this close to Christmas, young lady," Rose frowned at her.

"Can I get something for Uncle Pyther?" Hope asked.

"If you see something, I suppose…I'm sure he doesn't need five boxes of blood pops," Rose admitted with a grin. Hope grabbed a book of the shelf and put it on the counter, Rose going over to peer at the copy of _A Bachelor Wizard's Guide to Housekeeping._ "Hope Willowby!" she exclaimed, aghast at her daughter, but Toby was already wrapping it up.

"Perfect!" Toby said with a mischievous grin as the girl put a few sickles in the jar. "And thank you."

"Thank you, Mr. Toby. Ambrose, do you want to come to Honeydukes with us?" Rose asked.

"No thanks," Ambrose said.

"Then we'll see you at the party, I suppose. You're welcome to come too tonight if you like, Mr. Toby."

"I'm afraid I've quite a bit of business left tonight before I can close up the shop for the season, Mrs. Willowby, but thank you just the same," he said with a warm smile. Ambrose frowned and watched them go before turning to the old tinker.

"Are you going away again?" Ambrose asked with a frown.

"I never stay open long, as anyone could have told you, Mr. Bailey," Toby said gently.

"It's not going to be for another eight years, though, is it?" Ambrose asked worriedly. Toby smiled at him warmly.

"No, I simply promised a friend to run an errand for him elsewhere, so I need to do a bit of back and forth, here and there, and to and fro. But things are picking up here, and I don't doubt you'll be seeing more of me in the future. Much to your godfather's dismay, I'm sure," Toby chuckled.

"Why doesn't he like you, anyhow?" Ambrose asked. Toby chuckled softly, leaning on the counter.

"He does like me, Mr. Bailey, and holds me in the highest respect. He simply doesn't trust me," Toby explained. Ambrose looked at him dubiously.

"Why doesn't he trust you?" Ambrose said.

"Because your godfather is a very wise man," Toby said mischievously, turning back to his carving. Ambrose noticed a large clean cloth on the shelf next to him and confiscated it, taking a few moments to clean off Amber's handprints from the glass door, opening it every now and then for those going in and out. It was as he was just finishing up that he noticed a pair of familiar faces and groaned.

"Oh, no, don't tell me they're coming in here," Ambrose said.

Toby looked over curiously as Ambrose retreated back to the stool, Archimedes hooting questioningly as well. A moment later, Mr. Coventry opened the door and Don and Mike walked in, chatting excitedly as they worked to convince their father that they needed to go to the sports shop next. The twins stopped short when they saw Ambrose, their expressions turning to ones of extreme dislike, tinged with anger, and Ambrose realized that the details of the board meeting probably had something to do with it. As usual, their father seemed quite oblivious to it.

"Come come, now boys, let's not stand in the doorway," Abraxas said, herding them in. "Oh, Happy Christmas," he said to one of the other patrons as they made their way in, smiling warmly.

"What an odd setup! I'll bet we find a lot of neat stuff in here," Mike said, picking up several of the miscellaneous items and inspecting him.

"Looks like a lot of junk to me," Don said critically.

"Now, Donald, I have heard a lot of amazing tales about this shop. Why don't you two look for a present for your sister? Perhaps I can find something interesting for Regina here," Abraxus said.

"A muzzle might work," Ambrose said under his breath. Close enough to hear him, Toby blinked at him in surprise, tsked and shook his head at him.

"Who puts a vanity set next to a dog muzzle?" Don asked, rolling his eyes. Toby shook his head again, but Ambrose obviously thought it was very funny.

"Ah, that set might do the trick!" Abraxus said, gazing inside the golden box with a smile. "Regina could use a bit of pampering, she's had such a rough month. Although this is a nice mirror, too," he said, gazing at the ornate mirror appreciatively. Don glanced at it, and then did a doubletake, staring at it.

"What the? Why can't I see my mouth?" Don asked, putting his hands in front of it. The moment he pulled it away, however, he saw right through where his mouth should be. Ambrose blinked, gazing at the mirror with newfound suspicion.

"How weird! I can't see my ears!" Mike said, touching them to make sure they were still there. Ambrose suddenly grinned, wondering if the mirror didn't have a nose for trouble. There could be no doubt that Don's talent for trouble revolved around his mouth, while Mike would be better off not listening to Don so much. But Mr. Coventry stared at his twins in bewilderment, looking at their reflections.

"What do you mean? I don't see anything wrong. Everything looks quite normal to me," their father said.

"Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil," Ambrose murmured snidely. Toby cleared his throat.

"And you, son, need to learn how to think with this…" Toby said, tapping the boy's head hard enough to get his attention, "and not with that," he finished, pointing towards his mouth. "No matter how brilliant the observation may be."

"If you succeed in teaching him that, can you teach mine as well?" Abraxus joked, and Ambrose looked over to see him standing at the counter with the vanity set in hand.

"If given an occasion," Toby chuckled back, although Ambrose couldn't help but wonder if Toby was a bit more serious about the idea.

"Is it true I name my own price here?" Abraxus asked, gazing at the jar.

"It is," Toby said with a nod. Abraxus smiled and dumped a handful of galleons in the jar. "You are a very generous man, Mr. Coventry, perhaps too generous in some respects," he commented.

"Ah yes, it is indeed a failing of mine," Abraxus chuckled.

"I'm glad that you realize it then. Thank you," Toby said with a smile handing him his package. Abraxus then turned towards Ambrose with a smile, and Mike ran up behind them, using the opportunity to grab his father a rather loud green tie with silver stripes, which Toby quickly wrapped for him.

"Well, Mr. Bailey! Having a good holiday, I hope?" he asked warmly. Ambrose relaxed a little, realizing from the smile that Abraxus at least didn't hold him responsible for what had happened.

"Yes, Mr. Coventry," Ambrose said politely.

"Good, good. I can't wait to see the final copy of your research paper. Absolutely astounding piece of work for someone of your young years! Going into a history field, perhaps?" Abraxus asked with a smile.

"I haven't thought about it," Ambrose admitted.

"Well, no matter what you decide, I'm sure you'll go far. Are we finished here, boys?" Abraxus asked, and Mike nodded.

"Fine by me, I can't find anything but junk," Don said, looking at a long wooden rod before tossing it down in annoyance.

"Happy Christmas," Abraxus said with a smile. "Perhaps when school starts up again, the three of you ought to get together and study, yes? Give them a few pointers?" he suggested to Ambrose. Somehow Ambrose managed to keep up a smile despite the fact he knew he was likely to pay for that remark, the twins glaring at him murderously. Toby pursed his lips but didn't say anything.

"Happy Christmas," Ambrose replied, waiting until they were out the door before he groaned.

"Yes, well, I see you've had your hands full," Toby said, taking the cloth out of Ambrose's hand to quickly dust the counter off. "Mr. Coventry seems nice, at least."

"Too nice," Ambrose said.

"Are you sure there's such a thing as being too nice?" Toby asked with amusement.

"When it allows people to walk all over you, I'd say yes," Ambrose decided.

"Perhaps that isn't so much too much nice then but a lack of nice to one's self," Toby suggested. Ambrose was still thinking about that when Ashley arrived with a basket in hand. "Ah, good afternoon, Mrs. Bailey!"

"Mr. Toby," Ashley answered with a warm smile. "Why, Ambrose, I thought you said you came here to help, and yet here you sit! I hope he's not been a bother…"

"Not a bother, and he has been helping when he can, I assure you," Toby protested.

"Well, as it happens, I know how you boys get when you're working, so I've brought over some lunch," Ashley said, setting the basket on the counter. "But Ambrose, you can only stay another hour or two. Don't forget we have a busy night tonight."

"I'll make sure he's out on time, Mrs. Bailey," Toby assured her with a smile.

Just then there was a sudden ruckus as the wooden owl flapped and hopped off his perch, landing on the counter still holding the coin in his mouth. "Coming to say hello, are we, Archimedes?" Toby asked, but the wooden owl turned his head around strangely before looking to the front again.

"What is he doing with that coin?" Ashley asked curiously.

"He's been holding onto it all day, Mum, we've all been trying to figure it out," Ambrose said. "Do you suppose he wants to buy something?" The wooden owl bobbed his head up and down.

"Whatever would a wooden owl need?" Ashley grinned. "A can of wood polish?"

"Hm, you may have a point, he could use a good buffing," Toby said. "What with all I've had to do, I'm afraid I've been neglecting him lately."

"I can do that for you, Mr. Toby," Ambrose offered.

"Oh, don't do it for me, do it for him," Toby said. "Do you suppose you could take care of him?" Ashley looked at Toby suspiciously.

"Sure, why not?" Ambrose agreed. Suddenly the owl went over to the jar and dropped in his coin before landing on Ambrose's shoulder, nipping at his ear. Ambrose giggled a bit, trying to fend it off. "See, he likes me!"

"Apparently he likes you a lot, considering I think he just bought you," Toby said. Ambrose's eyes widened at that, while Ashley shook her head knowingly. "Of course, I wouldn't allow such a sale unless it was a mutual agreement, and your mother does have some say so in whether or not to allow even a featherless familiar in the house."

"Really?" Ambrose said, gazing at the owl in incredulity. "Sure its me you want?" The wooden owl bobbed its head and nipped at him again. "Wow!"

"You are going to get us into a lot of trouble, Mr. Toby," Ashley said, frowning at the growing smile on the old tinker's face.

"What? I didn't do anything. You plainly saw for yourself it was the bird's idea," Toby said innocently. "All you need to do is say the word, Mrs. Bailey, and I'll fish out the galleon and nullify the sale. But to be fair to the owl, the boy really has been sitting there next to the shelf all day, so I can see where he might be mistaken for merchandise. Besides, apparently the owl needs the boy more than he needs me, and I'd say being a second year Hogwarts student, he could probably use a familiar too. An owl is one of the normal choices, isn't it?" Toby mused, noting that Ashley was having a very hard time keeping a smile down, and was still shaking her head at him. "Shall I fish the coin out then?"

"Mum, please?" Ambrose begged, but the moment Ashley looked over she wished that she hadn't, seeing that in that short amount of time Ambrose had already become insanely attached to the wooden owl.

"Fine, have it your way," Ashley said resignedly. "Happy Christmas, I suppose! But I give my permission only with the understanding that you will take responsibility for this when his godfather finds out, Mr. Toby."

"Oh, I'm sure I'll be the one he comes to, Mrs. Bailey," Toby said with an enigmatic smile. "But if you would be so kind to remind him it is Christmas, maybe he'll be more lenient?"

"I seriously doubt that," she smiled dryly, kissing Ambrose on the cheek before she left. But the boy barely noticed, too intent was he on the owl on his shoulder, not acknowledging anything at all until Toby brought out a list of proper care instructions.


	34. Mistletoe

Thirty-Four

Mistletoe

From the moment Ambrose arrived at the Willowby house that evening, he was immediately surrounded by the entire family wanting to get a look at Archimedes, who didn't mind the attention despite the fact that he refused to come off of Ambrose's shoulder.

"Mr. Toby says he's bonding," Ambrose explained when Natalie couldn't coax him over to her. "But he should be over it in a few days."

"I can't believe he actually let him go. Mr. Toby loves that owl!" Rose said, enchanted with seeing him close up.

"Well, next time he opens, I want to offer to help," Natalie said, a bit miffed that he had gotten such a cool present on her birthday.

"I want a dragon," Charles the Third declared, deciding he wasn't so impressed after all. He was much more interested in the knock on the door, and was the first to run over and open it to see Alicia, Alex and the baby, and Ben standing in the doorway. "Did you bring me a present?" Charles asked, seeing that Ben was carrying a few.

"Not until tomorrow," Ben grinned at him. "It's Natalie's birthday, not yours, you know."

"Oh, there you are, come on in!" Rose said brightly, motioning them into the front room. "Charles, close the door, it's getting frightfully cold!"

"It still seems warm to me," Alicia admitted with a grin. But when Alex stopped in her tracks, Alicia looked over and found her own mouth open as they saw Ambrose standing there with a mob of kids around him and the owl, who hooted at them curiously.

"Wow! I don't believe it! I don't believe he finally gave it up! How I wanted that owl when I first saw him!" Alex said, handing Janus off to Alicia so she could get a better look.

"Is it real?" Ben asked curiously, putting the gifts on a table.

"I suppose that's a matter of opinion," Rose said with amusement when Winnie and Hope both nodded and Natalie and Charles shook their heads.

"Well, when he hoots, all I hear is noise, not words, so I'd say more toy than not," Alex said, but patted his head appreciatively.

"It isn't just a toy. Mr. Toby says he'd make a good familiar, and I think he will be," Ambrose protested.

"Just don't let one of the other Hogwarts cast a fire spell at it," Alicia warned him.

"No, Mr. Toby says they're all sorts of protections on him…rain, lightning, fire, all that sort of thing. I simply have to keep him clean and polished and watch for build-up really, and give him lots of attention so he stays animated, of course," Ambrose explained. There was a pair of soft popping sounds, and Ambrose glanced up to see Andrew and Aurelius step in. Aurelius groaned.

"I knew letting you in that shop was a mistake," Aurelius scowled, but Ambrose simply grinned at him.

"Now, Rel, let's be nice, it's a holiday," Rose chided him with amusement.

"Yes, Rel, we'll be seeing enough fireworks when Father sees that," Andrew chuckled. "Happy Birthday, Nat!"

"Thanks, Uncle Andrew!" Natalie beamed.

"Natalie, why don't you, Winnie and Ambrose go get the drinks and things? Hope, can you watch Amber? Here, Alicia, you can put Janus down in the pen," Rose offered, taking Destiny out and putting her in a walker so she could see what was going on.

Alicia sighed, reluctantly putting him down. She had found him a rather effective barrier when she didn't feel like interacting, and he was a very uncomplaining companion. With him contently in the playpen, Alicia went for her sketchbook, despite the fact that she really couldn't clear her mind enough to draw anything. She looked up again when Lucky and her mother arrived. Lucky was unusually impressed with Ambrose's acquisition, while Jennifer looked openly worried, going over to talk to Aurelius. Corey simply came in with a low whistle, but seemed more interested in the fact that Rose was standing in the hallway door under the mistletoe and insisted that everyone else wait for a greeting until after he took advantage of the situation. Their children, used to such displays, ignored it completely; even when Corey threw his arms around her and refused to let her wriggle away demanding seconds and thirds. Aurelius at least had the decency to look disgusted, while Andrew seemed to think it was quite funny.

"_Must_ you carry on like that?" said an irritable voice from the foyer, and Corey looked over to see Severus and Francis standing there, Francis trying to hide a smile.

"Mistletoe," Corey explained, smiling at his stark expression but let Rose slip away, admiring the color in her cheeks. Severus stepped pointedly around it before walking in the room in time to grab a glass off of Natalie's tray. Behind him carrying a large wrapped frame, Francis walked in with a smile while attempting to ignore the piercing stare Alicia was giving him.

"Uncle Pyver!" Amber declared and ran over to him.

"Uncle Pyther!" Hope said, giving him a hug as well.

"I seem to have been upstaged," Severus said with annoyance, Jennifer chuckling softly at him in response. But just then he felt a tug on his sleeve and looked down to see the serious face of Charles staring up at him while holding a book out. "Oh, it's you. All right, I'll read to you later on, I suppose."

"Just what exactly do you read out of that, sir?" Francis asked.

"One part creationism, one part sensationalism," Severus said casually. Francis chuckled. A moment later, Corey went off to the door again and came back in with Doug and Essie, the two of them helping her onto the couch.

"Ready for the pregnancy to be over with, huh?" Alex grinned at her.

"Not tonight, if you don't mind," Severus said dryly.

"Oh, I still have another week or two," Essie grinned. "But I keep seeing myself in a full hospital. Wouldn't it be funny if me and Juliet and Mary Potter and Hermione all went into labor at the same time?"

"No," came several protests, not in the least of which Severus.

"Behave, Essie, can't you see the man is going to have a hard enough time when he realizes that he's someday going to have a Weasley, Potter, Black, Brim and a Clemmons all being Sorted the same year?" Corey said. Severus stared at him, turning pasty. Jennifer winced.

"You just had to point that out, didn't you?" Severus said flatly.

"Oh, well, Happy Christmas," Corey said.

"It gets better," Aurelius said so dryly that Severus looked over at him, raising a brow at the expression on his son's face. "Wait until you see Ambrose's new familiar."

"Ambrose has a familiar?" Severus asked with a frown. Aurelius nodded him towards the kitchen and Severus walked over to the door to see Winnie and Ambrose chatting over a plate of gingerbread, while a wooden owl sat on his shoulder, listening intently. The bird's head whirled around and looked towards Severus, hooting a warning.

"Uh oh," Ambrose said, quickly getting up and grabbing one of the trays to take into the front room.

"How is it possible that you have that bird, Mr. Bailey?" Severus demanded as the two children hurried into the front room for more protection. "Did you or did you not make an Agreement with me?"

"I didn't break any agreements, Uncle Severus, honest! Neither did Mr. Toby! It was Archimedes' idea, not his!" Ambrose explained. Severus stared at him. "The owl paid a galleon for me," Ambrose explained, realizing how silly that sounded when he saw the expression on Lucky's face. Suddenly, Severus whirled around and stormed towards the door, passing Thomas, Fleur and Maurice who had just appeared in the hall.

"And just where are you going?" Thomas asked as he went by.

"To maim, torture and murder," Severus said viciously.

"Oh. Well, make sure you declare a Wizard's Duel first so I don't have to fill out paperwork," Thomas said unconcernedly before they stepped in to join the rest.

Severus strode down the street and straight Toby's shop, ignoring the sign that read; Closed for the Evening, _not that you'll listen_ and pushed his way in to see him reading at the counter.

"The owl bought _him_? How wickedly clever of you," Severus snarled at Toby.

"Yes it was, wasn't it?" Toby mused.

"It's hardly a joking matter! What are others going to say when they see him walking about with that owl?" Severus said.

"Since when do you worry about what other people say?"

"You know very well why. Even assuming he was ready to know the truth, which I don't think he is, do you really want the rest of the world to come down on him like they most assuredly will if they know?" Severus asked.

"I have a lot of animated wooden figures that go out that door every day I'm open, Severus," Toby pointed out.

"They were not your familiar, either."

"No," Toby said, looking thoughtful. "Archimedes was…the real one, I mean…I'm afraid the wooden one isn't anywhere near as fantastic, but of course the wooden version is a lot longer lived…a much more appropriate pet for one of a static nature such as myself. But Archimedes was a very special owl of extreme intellect. Must've been charmed in the egg somehow, I don't know, I only know at the time he was my second conscience. Spoke Old English and Latin. A very dear friend he was, back when I really wasn't sure how to communicate with a linear time world. Anyhow, when I lost him, that's when I took up carving to sort of…clear my mind, and give myself a point of reference to what time I was in, too.

"But there's nothing like the bond between a wizard and his familiar and what lengths one would go to preserve it. I'm sure you understand with your two, and of course Jennifer went to some extraordinary lengths to preserve hers as well…not that you should blame her, Severus. The temptation was probably too much for her, and I probably would have done the same thing," Severus frowned, trying to work out what he meant by that. "But the point is, I've had that silly wooden owl for many years and for some reason when I saw the boy, I felt I could let go. I felt like perhaps he needed him more. Not that the boy doesn't have friends, but he can be quite unsure of himself at times, and the boost to his confidence earned by just taking care of something…well, I thought it would do him good. And I didn't mean to interfere, really. In fact, Ambrose is the one who kept coming to me. You know, Severus, you have been doing splendidly with him, you and Ashley both have. He's happy and well adjusted, is in a loving home and has a warm family and all the other benefits none of my other children have had. After all this time, I find it quite encouraging, just as I find the progress of my other descendants quite encouraging…even if you can be a little hard on him."

"You know why I have to be," Severus said quietly.

"Oh, yes, I know, Severus. You don't want to be put in the position of having to act against him if something goes wrong. But I believe that in every being is an equal potential for good or evil, and with the right guidance, I really think this boy has a chance for good that most of his siblings never had. Come, now, Severus, do you really think my giving him the first Christmas gift I've been able to give him since the boy was born is all that bad an influence on him?" Toby asked. Severus sighed.

"All right," Severus said resignedly. "But we really need to figure out some sort of long term game plan on how to keep this thing secret."

"You'll find that easier, I think, once Ambrose knows, Severus…"

"Can't we let him have his childhood? At least for a little while longer?" Severus asked, almost pleading. Toby nodded with a smile.

"As long as possible," Toby said.

"At least we agree on something," Severus said dryly. "Happy Christmas."

"Good night, I'll save my Christmas greetings for tomorrow. You'll be back in the morning," Toby said, going back to his book.

"So you think, but I still have free will," Severus glowered at him, heading towards the door.

"Absolutely, and I commend you for it, my boy," Toby said with a nod, not looking up from the reading. "Nevertheless, if you find you need advice, I'll be here when you need me, and I may even have what you've been looking for." Severus sighed in annoyance, trying not to think about the certainty in the old man's voice as he walked back to Corey's house.

It was Alicia who was the first to retreat. The moment Janus began to fuss, she jumped up to grab him, glad for an excuse to get out of the noisy room and away from Aurelius and her mother's searching eyes…or was she just being a bit paranoid? She rather missed being at odds with her father. She had so many more excuses to get out of these sorts of social engagements. But even as she grinned at the thought of that it soon faded, for she wondered if the war with her father all those years meant anything at all. She heard a noise like the creak of the board and glanced out into the hall only to see a shadow retreat towards the back.

Snapping Janus back up from his change, she gently laid him beside the sleeping Destiny before she slipped to the back door to see the unmistakable figure of Francis Pyther standing in the small yard between the house and the greenhouse, lost in thought. Alicia stepped outside, trying to be both quiet enough and loud enough not to startle him, which, she realized, was not so easy a feat. But he jumped only slightly, his eyes flashing from the light when she opened the door and came out.

"Too close in there for you?" Alicia asked.

"I'm not used to crowds," Francis admitted.

"That's not a crowd, that's a mob," Alicia chuckled. "They get to me pretty quick and I'm related to them."

"Perhaps that just makes it worse?" Francis suggested, gazing off at the decorated street of Haven's Row, filled with holly and candles and red ribbons candy-striped around every lamppost.

"How do you keep getting sucked into these family gatherings, anyhow?" Alicia asked.

"Oh, Natalie asked. She was disappointed when I left. And your nieces and nephew rather grew on me. Besides, I had to drop off the painting I did of them for their parents," Francis said with a shrug. "Although I will be glad when Severus gets back. I'd rather like to get it all over with and get out of here." Alicia frowned, wondering if it was she he was trying to get away from but not really wanting to start another fight by asking.

"Other plans?"

"Not so much as that I have other things to do, really, trying to get ready for Defense and all…"

"What? You're teaching Defense?" Alicia said. "That's it, my father really has gone mad."

"I won't argue with you on that point," Francis agreed, leaning on the fence. "Although I can't really argue with him either, which is how I got into this mess. But tomorrow night, Albus and Rosmerta are having some friends over, so I'll probably go to that as well."

"I'll be in Hawaii by then. Jacob's parents live there," Alicia explained.

"Ah," Francis said, his voice changing pitch slightly. "Well, I suppose that's progress, isn't it?"

"Hey, don't start," Alicia chuckled. "You took me to see your parents."

"Only paintings," Francis protested. "And I suppose he hasn't met yours yet."

"And why's that?" Alicia challenged him.

"Because your father should have scared him off by now," Francis teased her.

"Jacob doesn't scare easily," Alicia said with a grin.

"Well, that explains his marriage to your cousin then, doesn't it?" Francis answered without missing a beat.

"Spare no punches on my account, Francis. I thought you liked Jacob?" Alicia challenged him.

"Well, yes, although ultimately it really doesn't matter whether I like him or not, does it?" Francis said, his voice turning dark again.

"Back to square one again, why do I even bother?" Alicia sighed, turning around. "I'm going to go see if father's back," she said before walking back inside, the door slamming behind her. She had missed the pure irritation in his face, or perhaps she might have wondered about it. Growling in anger and frustration, Francis waited only a moment before he pushed himself off the fence he was leaning on and walked back inside.

Bursts of laughter could be heard from the front room, and Francis peered in with complete surprise to see everyone watching Severus 'reading' out of the book Charles gave him, while Charles sat in front of him intently trying to listen despite the constant interruptions. The other grandchildren were around him as well, with Amber clinging to the arm of his chair just in case any pictures decided to show up on the page he was reading. Francis quickly realized as he watched that every line Severus spoke seemed to speak on several levels, the somewhat sarcastic part going over the children's heads while behind them most of the others had little trouble picking up the double meanings.

Francis also noticed that in another corner, Corey and Jennifer were attempting to hide their faces, for the story he was telling Charles was the one on how the Great Athos was defeated by an army of gingerbread men while attempting to rescue an auburn-haired princess from their burnt prison of doom.

"Fortunately, at the last moment, a wizard of unfathomable power burst into the room, casting a very powerful…first year spell…" Severus said, earning another round of laughter, "…managed to freeze the biscuits into submission, releasing both the princess and the hero…after they had time to pose for pictures, of course," he added, getting another chuckle.

"Quick, hide the album, Mom," Corey murmured to Jennifer, who then pointed towards Rose who was hugging the book close and grinning at them. Corey groaned.

"So, what do you suppose the moral of the story is?" Severus inquired.

"Never let Alicia decorate gingerbread?" Aurelius inquired, having heard that one before.

"True, but not the one I was thinking of," Severus admitted.

"Never leaving gingerbread unattended in the first place comes to mind," Ashley said, gazing at Corey who was looking at the ceiling.

"Also true, but no," Severus said again.

"All right, son, out with it," Thomas said with feigned boredom. Severus then smiled enigmatically.

"Never give me ammunition that I can use to haunt your family with for generations to come," Severus said, the smile never leaving.

"Lucky, you better remember that," Corey said, inspiring another round of laughter.

Presents were the next order of business. After finding a glass specifically labeled for him in the kitchen, Francis slipped through the hall to stand in the doorway where he could watch without really getting in the way of actual family. Across from him, Alicia sat near Alex and Ben, but her expression was miles away for some reason. Suddenly she realized he was looking at her and focused in on him, Francis quickly turning his attention back to the center of the room in response, well aware that Alicia was still looking in his direction. In truth, Alicia wasn't looking at him at all so much as where he was positioned in the doorway, but her daring whim to take advantage of the mistletoe thing was immediately dulled not only by the fact that her parents and everyone who would jump her for it were sitting at the room, but also because they were all sitting in between.

"An art kit! Thanks, Uncle Pyther!" Natalie beamed at him warmly. Alicia blinked, turning her attention to what was going on, and then rolled her eyes.

"You may as well open up mine next now," Alicia said dryly.

"Oh! All right," Natalie said, searching it out for a moment before pulling out the rectangular package and opening it, laughing in response. "An art kit!"

"Looks like the exact same art kit," Hope mused.

"Well then it must be good," Natalie said diplomatically. "Thanks, Aunt Alicia!"

"You'll have plenty to share with your siblings then," Rose suggested.

"All right, but I'm not sharing my brushes. Hope destroys them," Natalie said. Hope stuck her tongue out at her.

"Do you want me to tie that in knots again?" Severus inquired. Hope put her tongue back in her mouth. Well, at least her father seemed to be on his best behavior, Alicia mused. Even Thomas seemed to be almost getting along, although admittedly Jennifer was making a point to stay on the other side of the room from him and his wife.

Finally, Natalie ran out of presents, the colored paper making it into the fireplace.

"Wait, wait, there's one more!" Natalie protested when everyone started to get up.

"You are not getting a broom tonight, young lady," Corey said firmly.

"Not that, that can wait for tomorrow," Natalie said. Corey and Rose exchanged glances. "Since Uncle Pyther can't really be here tomorrow morning, we wanted to go ahead and give you our present to you and Mum, since he helped with it."

"All right, let's see it," Corey said with a grin. Natalie squinted at him, while Francis was busy sliding it out from behind the couch.

"Wait, how do you know it's something you see?" Natalie frowned. Hope sighed.

"Because Uncle Pyther did it, you nit," Hope said.

"Ten sickles says Hope's Sorted into Gryffindor," Aurelius murmured. Sitting right in front of him, Thomas snorted softly in agreement.

"Here we are," Francis said, carefully handing Corey the wrapped frame. Rose came over as he carefully tore the paper off, grinning at it before turning and putting it up against the mantle so everyone could see the five crowding around the old couch in the attic, Natalie holding Destiny in her lap while Amber sat on the floor between Hope and Charles.

"You're amazing, Pyther, how in the world did you get them to stay still long enough to do it?" Corey said with a grin.

But just after he said that, everyone noticed Amber in the portrait intentionally bump into Hope, who then glared accusingly at Charles. Charles frowned at her in response, before turning towards the front. A second later, Hope gave him a little push and soon after he pushed back.

"Stop that," Charles murmured softly.

"You started it," Hope whispered loudly back.

"Charles the Third doesn't start fights. Charles the Third finishes fights," Charles declared. But then Natalie suddenly nodded and got up, and a moment later they resettled with Charles on one end and Hope on the other and Natalie, Destiny, and Amber in the middle.

Several of the adults in the room chuckled at the exchange, while Rose gave Francis a warm hug.

"You've captured them so perfectly, Pyther!" she said.

"Oh, well, it's the least I could have done. And really, they did all the hard work, all that sitting still and all!" Pyther teased.

"It was hard, especially since Charles always saved his wiggles up until anytime Pyther started painting," Hope said.

"At least you didn't end up with a wet lap," Natalie said. "Do you like it, Dad?"

"Absolutely, and I hope you thanked Pyther for helping you with it," Corey said.

"At least he had the decency to not put you in it. I have enough trouble keeping up with the two Corey paintings we have at Hogwarts," Severus said dryly.

"I have one better," Corey said, smiling enigmatically at Alicia. "I still have the painting Alicia gave me of the Four Musketeers hanging up in the lab." Severus blinked. "But don't worry, she was still young then, so they don't move around enough to get into too much trouble." Severus squinted at him suspiciously, not quite sure if Corey was simply leaving open the possibility for him to wonder about or not. "Maybe I can convince her to do another one though?" Alicia grinned at the enthusiastic responses from Doug, Taylor and Danny about the possibility despite the fact that Severus was obviously not in the least bit impressed with the idea.

"Well, I really ought to be going," Francis said, getting an open protest from several of the children in the room, including Ambrose, who didn't really have a chance to talk to him. "I'm sorry, but I did say I'd simply drop by. I have a few things I still need to get done tonight."

"Thanks for coming, Pyther, and for the portrait," Rose said warmly.

"See you later, Francis, let Tonks know I'll be back shortly," Severus said, waving him off casually.

"Of course, sir. Happy Christmas," he said. Alicia frowned in frustration as he passed through to the front door again, for he hadn't even glanced in her direction on his way out.

Was this, then, how it was meant to end, she wondered, finding herself wandering over to the window to see that he had started walking down the street rather than Apparating. He had parried every attempt of hers since they met. Why would she have expected any more out of him? Why had he even bothered in the first place to keep seeing her once they met again? At least Jacob seemed more than willing to do what it took to win Alicia over, he at least was sincerely interested in her, which was more than Francis ever was. Fine, so be it, she thought to herself, but then found herself looking up at the doorway again. But just because things had always been one-sided didn't mean she wasn't going to let him just walk away on his own terms without any input at all.

Alicia strode out the door then, ignoring her mother's call and leaving before she had seen Severus putting up a hand, signaling everyone to let her go. It didn't even take her very long to catch up, for Francis was walking rather slowly towards the Three Brooms with his hands in his pockets, apparently lost in thought.

"Francis?" Alicia said, and he turned in surprise.

"What are you doing out here? And without your coat, no less," he chided her. But instead of answering, she simply over and pulled him down by the collar of his robe and quickly kissed him, satisfied by the stunned expression he gave her when she took a step back.

"Mistletoe," she explained, and then hurriedly turned to head back to the house.

But to her own surprise, she was grabbed by the arm and pulled back around into his waiting embrace. He held her tight against him before leaning into what began as a gentle kiss that soon turned more passionate as his longing to have her near took hold and he allowed himself to forget all the tremendous obstacles between them. In that instant, Alicia's own doubts began to melt away, for now she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Francis Pyther loved her. As the lingering kiss came to an end, Alicia felt his grip lessen and his hands slip away, the gaze in his eyes so sincere that Alicia would never forget it.

"Mistletoe," he explained softly before taking a few steps back and turned into a bat to make a hasty exit. Alicia merely stood there a moment, too stunned to move.

"Wow," she murmured at last, wandering towards Corey's house. She didn't remember the walk there. She simply knew that she arrived. She barely even heard the inquiries, and wasn't even quite sure what they said, but she nodded in response before curling up in a corner with her sketchpad and blocking out the rest of the world as being unimportant.

Severus glanced at Aurelius, who was shaking his head with a sigh, then over at Jennifer who had a distant, private smile on her face, as if remembering something. And even though Severus still wasn't sure what had occurred yet, their reactions and Alicia's own made it fairly clear that somehow things had moved one step further towards what would be in all likelihood a tragic ending.


	35. The Heart of the Problem

Thirty-Five

The Heart of the Problem

Jennifer finished getting Lucky settled in her sitting room for the evening before she slipped through to check on Severus. Frowning when he wasn't in his sitting room, she walked over and opened the study door, pulling back the curtain to see him standing near his desk, looking over the Map.

"Severus, really, it's Christmas Eve," Jennifer protested.

"What do you suppose Pyther is doing in the potion room?" Severus mused.

"Severus, he's in there a lot. He's been restoring the damaged paintings so we can get them out of there."

"Yes, I know, but we haven't had a new contamination in a while, and he should be more worried about getting ready to teach," Severus said, folding up the map.

"Honestly, it's Christmas Eve, he should be able to do what he likes with his time," Jennifer chuckled at him. "Besides, he's probably finishing that test painting so we can test your theory that we can transfer a potion through a compartment charmed painting."

"Which you don't think will work anyway," Severus said, putting it away.

"It's a stretch, Severus," Jennifer said with a sympathetic smile. "A compartment charmed painting works just like a Chest Cloak. If I put a smoke bomb in my pocket sure enough the chest would be smoking, but the pocket itself won't be."

"Yes, but if the painting goes through a interspatial dimension as a delivery, it would have to go through the painting's dimension before arriving at its actual destination…"

"Severus, it's Christmas…" Jennifer protested. Severus glanced at his watch.

"Presently, but it can wait until the morning," he decided before joining her in his sitting room. "Did you check on Fortuna's familiar?"

"Still in the box. I think," Jennifer said with an enigmatic smile.

"Yes, well, I hope you don't expect a positive response…"

"He'll grow on her," Jennifer insisted. "And I think they're a perfect match, don't you?"

"Perhaps," Severus said. "Familiars do tend to grow on one, and of course pick up some of the personality of their owners, some of their quirks…how old is Ratfly anyhow?" Jennifer blinked at the question.

"Well, I don't know, he was an adult when I got him…"

"Yes, and yet I know you've had him over thirty years," Severus mused. "I thought they only lived a maximum of thirty years, twenty is more common…"

"He's also a familiar, not an ordinary fruit bat," Jennifer protested.

"Yes, although it occurred to me earlier this evening that he doesn't seem to have aged much in the last eight or so years," Severus mused. Jennifer grew quiet, concentrating on getting ready for bed. "What was the first rule Dumbledore gave us upon giving up the Elixir recipe again? About its use on others short of ourselves?" Jennifer paused by her wardrobe door, not daring to turn and look at him.

"To be used on others only in extreme emergencies when no other method is possible," Jennifer murmured.

"And the second rule?" Severus inquired. Jennifer sighed.

"Natural aging should never be considered an emergency," she quoted, finally turning around. "But that's well enough for you, Severus, you have two familiars whose lifespan is such that Elixir or not they very well might outlive you."

"Rasputin has had many close calls, a long lifespan hardly protects me from losing either of them…"

"And yet I know you'd probably risk your life to save one of them," Jennifer said firmly, sitting on the bed. "Tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing."

"Perhaps," Severus admitted in a low voice, snuffing the candles with a wave of the hand before lying down. "I can hardly blame you, and on the large scheme of things the lifespan of a fruit bat may not matter so much, but I wonder how we're going to fare against the greater moral questions ahead of us."

"Meaning?" Jennifer asked, slipping into bed beside him.

"Meaning, what are we going to do when Rose begins to truly outpace Corey in age? Or our other children, for that matter, when Aurelius is a stand still, except for what aging he's gotten from his job…"

"Or what about Alicia, when she grows old while Pyther stays the same?" Jennifer put in. Severus sighed, gazing at her thoughtfully as his eyes adjusted to the dim moonlight.

"I don't think they will ever get that far, Jennifer," Severus said quietly.

"Alicia knows that he's in love with her, Severus, really truly in love," Jennifer whispered. "She won't be willing to give that up now any more than I was with you."

"You tried," Severus reminded her.

"And he tried too, but I think he's starting to realize that he's not capable of staying away from her either," Jennifer said.

"Very well, so our morality issues are more complex than just the question of aging," Severus admitted.

"If only it was more clear what right and wrong actually was," Jennifer said. Severus, who had been thinking the same thing, simply kissed her and settled in but had trouble staying asleep.

So it happened that it was he who uncharacteristically found himself the first to rise on Christmas morning, opening the door of Jennifer's sitting room a crack to check on Lucky. She was still asleep on the sofa…snoring in fact…but somehow her intended present from Jennifer had escaped its box and had snuggled up on the girl's arm, leaving only a wrapped present full of lettuce and droppings. At least the rabbit seemed content, Severus thought with a smirk before carefully closing the door.

Turning and noticing Jennifer was fast asleep as well, he threw on his robes and went out the lower door of his sitting room to satisfy a hunch that had been gnawing on him all night, making his way down to the potion room. He glanced thoughtfully at the paintings left hanging in there, knowing it wouldn't have been removed. He glanced beside the door to see the painting of Pyther still in his place. But as he had suspected, Alica's portrait wasn't there. It was then he checked the painting closet, rolling aside several racks of potion ingredients before he figured out where Francis had hidden it. Mentally taking an image of exactly where it was and how it was covered, Severus carefully drew it out to view it.

That he had been working on it came to no surprise. That he had chosen to develop it into her current age was also something that Severus had expected. But Severus couldn't help but be a little concerned about just how far the painting had progressed…rather, just how far Pyther's feelings had progressed…so very, very evident from the subtle changes he had made to her face, to the extreme changes to he had made to the gown and the background, to the delicate way she was holding a freshly added sprig of mistletoe in her left hand. Had he been able to view it without bias, he would have come to the conclusion it was quickly turning into Pyther's best work. But as he carefully returned it to its place he felt troubled and heavy-hearted, reluctantly returning to their rooms knowing that Jennifer would easily discern what he was thinking about.

When he arrived, Lucky was staring suspiciously at the rabbit that had startled her awake, while Jennifer was busy setting up the tray for coffee.

"There you are," Jennifer said, gazing at him questioningly as she handed him a cup.

"You knew I wouldn't be far," Severus said calmly before gazing at Lucky and the rabbit. "Started without me, did you?"

"Wasn't my idea," Lucky said. "I woke up with that thing on my head."

"That simply means he likes you," Jennifer smiled.

"Or he meant to suffocate me," Lucky said dubiously. The rabbit was brimming over with cute. Too cute, Lucky decided, with a mostly cream colored coat except for a large irregular patch of brown on its butt, medium length but kind of floppy ears and black eyes that reeked of innocence, regardless of whether he was or not.

"Your first familiar was a rabbit, wasn't it, Jennifer?" Severus said casually when he noticed his wife furrowing her brows at the girl.

"My mother got me White as a companion because I wasn't able to have any friends or anything after we fled to America, not that I would have had time for such things," Jennifer said, "and of course to act as a familiar if I got into Whitebridge, knowing they only accepted light familiars there."

"What happened to him?" Lucky asked.

"Gave him to one of my old professors that helped me pass my teacher's exam before I headed to Beaubatons. Ratfly had been a graduation present from father, and I was asked to only bring one, and he was more practical, not to mention at the time I thought my father was dead so wanted to bring a reminder of him…ironic now, considering everything," Jennifer murmured, but shook herself out of it. "You'll have to be careful with him though. Rabbit familiars tend to hide very well, and moreover they seem to be able to get in and out of places you may not normally expect."

"Yes, now, who does that remind me of?" Severus mused. Lucky grinned.

"Eh, I guess I'll deal with it, even if it is a direct reference to my old name," Lucky said with a shrug, petting the rabbit more to appease Jennifer than out of any affection. "I just gotta figure out a name for a rabbit that ain't too cliché."

"Like White Rabbit?" Severus said, earning a dirty look from Jennifer.

"How about we go on to other gifts now," she suggested when it proved obvious he was going to be in a mood today.

Along with the rabbit, Lucky decided she made out fairly well. The Professor had given her a Wizard Chess set, and a great many of her other siblings and friends sent along books of number and logic puzzles, a large assortment of candy (apparently none of them had quite figured out which particular candy she favored yet) and one daring person sent a deck of cards on a tagless package. Lucky looked up with a pleading grin when she showed Severus the deck. He stared at it darkly.

"If I see one coin changing hands while you are in this castle, Fortuna, both you and whomever sent it will soon regret it showing up under that tree," Severus warned her sternly. Jennifer hid her smile, despite the fact she didn't think Lucky was going to be able to keep clean very long. "What is that over there?"

"Oh, I made a pile of stuff I can't use 'til the summer. Mostly video games Alex and Ben got me, and an MP3 player I got from Dale Chance."

"What is it?" Jennifer asked.

"You know, portable music, off the computer. From the note I think he's already put some stuff on it, but it don't work here. I already checked," Lucky said.

"I hope that wasn't expensive," Jennifer frowned.

"Nah, it was a cheap one," Lucky shrugged. "Still, it'll be nice to have when we get out of school."

"Yes, well, just remember your promise to fix that situation of yours in Defense or you won't be seeing much electric anything when we get home for the summer," Severus warned with a thin smile.

"Ya," Lucky said unenthusiastically. "How about we tackle some of yours?"

"You first, Jennifer," Severus suggested, offering her a box that would most likely prove to be either the new charm for her charm bracelet or another pair of earrings.

"But I've been dying to see what it is I got you, Severus," Jennifer said with a grin, pulling out the box. Severus gazed at her expressionlessly.

"You don't know?" he asked.

"Not a clue, but I trust Toby's judgment," Jennifer said with an enigmatic smile.

"Who is that Toby guy anyways?" Lucky asked.

"You'll refer to him as Mr. Toby, and he is simply a shop keeper with a nose for trouble," Severus said, but accepted the large box out of Jennifer's hands. As he loosened the ribbon, he found a small card and turned it over thoughtfully. "Another one of his bits of advice attached as usual. It says, 'For a Man who has Almost Everything; Perspective is Paramount.'"

"Heh, sounds like something you would use as a password somewhere," Lucky said. Jennifer quickly hid her grin when Severus squinted between them. "So what does it mean?"

"It means we see what's in the box," Jennifer prompted Severus impatiently.

Severus cautiously opened it, peering in, his expression changing to one of interest.

"It appears to be a globe," Severus said, putting the box on the floor so he could take it out.

"Really? You don't have one of those yet, do you? Perfect!" Jennifer beamed; watching as he carefully took it out.

Lucky scooted a bit closer to get a better look at it as well, for it was a bit larger than she had thought from the size of the box, around two feet in diameter with a very long curved gold arm holding it in place filled with tiny golden buttons and attached to a golden rectangular base where a rendition of Atlas supported the lower half of the sphere. The globe itself seemed to be made of enameled metal of some kind and highly detailed with several small holes placed around it so that the globe could be turned over or on its side if needed to see something properly. The holes, however, didn't really seem to mar anything, often disguised as o's in names or river borders or other features of the landscape, although something did seem strange.

"Jennifer, could you track down my reading glasses?" Severus asked. Jennifer smiled warmly at him before slipping into the bedroom.

"Some of the colors look faded on one side," Lucky said with a frown as she looked at it from both angles, wondering if it was the lighting in the room.

"Shadow, I believe," Severus said, glancing at his watch. "If I'm not mistaken, what you're seeing is a representation of where the sun is at the moment. The side with the sharper color is where it's currently shining. Most likely if the globe is left alone in proper position on its stand, it'll turn on its own during the day."

"What's with all the buttons in the arm?" Lucky asked. Severus, who was wondering the same thing, accepted his glasses from Jennifer, who came up behind him so she could see the globe better as well.

"Time periods, it seems, beginning with Permian, I think; Triassic, Jurassic and so forth, and then 10,000 BC, 5000, 1000, 0, 500, 1000, and then it goes by centuries until 1500 where it breaks up every fifty years and from 1900 every twenty-five years, with a few unlabeled buttons at the top," Severus said, then pushed the lowest button. A strange shift came over the globe like a set of shutters changing opposite directions, and Pangea could clearly be seen while Jennifer and Lucky ahhhed in appreciation before he picked one closer to their century and gazed on it with interest.

"_Fantástico!_" Lucky declared, gazing curiously at where country lines had been eschewed over time.

"I rather think he outdid himself this time," Jennifer agreed as Severus played with the unlabeled buttons but nothing happened.

"Reserved for later dates, I suppose. It most likely self-updates when needed," Severus decided.

"What's that lower lever for?" Lucky asked. Severus, who hadn't even noticed the small metal lever positioned under Atlas' front foot slipped it over towards the back and the globe changed again to reveal the night sky, causing Lucky and Jennifer to break out into another round of appreciation. Severus suddenly sighed in frustration, pushing the one marked 1000 B.C. and watched as the stars adjusted.

"Now why didn't he give me this nine or ten years ago when I could have used it to clear up that Ciardoth mess?" Severus complained.

"Perhaps he hadn't finished this yet, or thought that might have been too much interference," Jennifer suggested. "Even so, do you like it?"

"Decidedly," Severus said, still gazing at it. "Are you going to open one of yours or not?" The small box Jennifer had found had proved to be a new charm as she had suspected, but Severus was too busy playing with his globe to pay much attention to the conversation as Jennifer got out her mother's charm bracelet and pointed out each one to Lucky.

"Now I have a full set," Jennifer said happily when Severus finally put the globe aside, showing off her bracelet to him.

"Are you actually going to wear it, though?" Severus asked.

"Well, I will today, they're not likely to get into much trouble on Christmas, are they?" Jennifer said with a grin.

"You forget, Alicia will be in Hawaii today," Severus said. Jennifer pondered that.

"I definitely will leave it on then," she decided. Severus rolled his eyes and shook his head at her. "Don't give me that, you're worried about them too," she whispered to him so that Lucky wouldn't hear, but she was busy breaking open her new chess set.

"You know I am. It is all this sitting and waiting knowing something terrible is going to happen that puts me off," Severus said, his expression growing dark a moment before glancing over at her intense gaze. "I don't suppose you'd mind if I slipped away for an hour?" Jennifer smiled in understanding.

"All right, Severus, we'll wait to have breakfast until you get back. And don't forget to thank him for the globe," Jennifer added.

"I might remember," Severus said as if debating whether or not he'd ever go so far as to thank Toby for anything. Jennifer only shook her head and chuckled at him, but when Lucky looked up questioningly as he left, Jennifer simply sat down beside her and helped her set up the chess board.

The door of Toby's shop simply wished everyone a good holiday, but Severus paid no attention to it, stepping in with only a moment's pause when he heard the jingle of a bell over his head.

"Temporary replacement for my owl," Toby explained with a chuckle from where he sat behind the counter. Two cups had already been laid out and Severus sighed, walking and sitting on the stool that had been left for him. "Did you like your gift?" Toby inquired.

"A very useful tool," Severus admitted.

"Even more useful, I'd say, once you find the hidden lever I put in as well, but I'm sure that's neither here nor there since I have a feeling that's not what you came here to talk about," Toby said, pouring them both a cup of coffee before sitting down himself. "I think you'll like this blend. I copied it off a rather quaint little café in New York at the recommendation of a friend," he said mischievously. "But how about you tell me what's bothering you to the point you'd come out on Christmas morning and at the risk of me saying 'I told you so,' which, by the way, I would never do to you, Severus."

"Thank you," Severus said dryly then grew quiet, taking a sip of the coffee and agreeing silently that it did remind him of Kingler's. But it took him a few more moments to figure out how to express what he wanted to say.

"Ever felt like you were watching a runaway train, knowing you can probably stall it by keeping it on the track but knowing that there was no way in hell you could keep it from crashing?" Severus said after a moment.

"Oh yes, I know that feeling well," Toby said somberly. "I watched it happen to my best friend."

"So you did," Severus said quietly, nodding. "Jennifer and I have been going through that lately, and yet it seems that despite the fact I want to stay away from it, the more I seem caught up in it."

"This rather goes back to the message I sent when I first arrived, Severus, of knowing when to mind your business and when to mind other's business," Toby said. "Have either of them actually come to you about their present situation yet?"

"No, but it's inevitable, Icarus is right about that," Severus said, folding his hands over his cup with a sigh. "Sooner or later they will realize it cannot go on like this, and they'll need to either find a way to live apart from each other or find someone willing to try and piece Pyther back together again. Alicia knows there's a method, she's mentioned it in my presence before on more than one occassion…I just don't think she realizes just how infinitesimal the chances are of it actually working."

"I take it that means you have been researching it, then," Toby said, sipping his drink somberly.

"Would you believe I've been looking into it on and off for over eight years?" Severus said, Toby smiling softly in response. "Not carefully, perhaps, more casually…debating the impending problem that was predicted to fall to me."

"Why, Severus, that's not like you at all," Toby tsked, but his smile never left.

"Merely anticipating the possibility that Pyther might come to me about it, that's hardly bowing to fate," Severus said.

"True enough," Toby nodded with a smile.

"Of course, I've been looking it over more carefully since the whole thing with the paintings began, knowing I'd need an expert in the field to look into it and knowing it was only a matter of time before the two of them crossed paths again as close as those paths had come to each other. The method itself is actually rather cut and dry, really; if the soul is intact, you use a combination of a complex countercurse that expels the vampirism state along with a spell that restores a corpse's bodily functions, similar to what's used in Healer schools use so they can train on working cadavers. But the timing must be precise; and even when the timing is correct the success rate is dismal. Nearly always it results in death. One in a hundred actually have been restored to life, if they've been inflicted less than two weeks, that is. None who have tried beyond those first few weeks have ever survived," Severus murmured. "And Pyther has six hundred years on them."

"That does sound grim," Toby nodded. "And yet you still considered it?"

"Well, something one of the countercurse specialists experimenting on it wrote rather intrigued me. His son was a vampire, but didn't survive the process. Going on two weeks, he had given into instinct, as it were, and by the wizard's admission had taken a few victims in that time…but the wizard had successfully restored another boy before that point, who hadn't taken any. Cruel irony at work, I suppose, since I imagine the first was the test subject for his son. But after it had happened, he made the hypothesis that since it works rather like on exorcism to free the soul from the unwanted curse, perhaps it was corruption of the soul rather than time that caused the vampires to expire, and the two week limit was more about when their willing food supply ran out or when starvation forced them to take drastic measures rather than how long the corpse had been preserved in such a manner. If that is truly the case, Pyther may even now fit into that one in a hundred category. Even so, those odds are daunting when so much is on the line."

"I imagine this is where I come in," Toby said. "You came ask if there is any way to improve the odds."

"Or find out if it's even worth trying to begin with," Severus said quietly.

"Worth it? I'd say that can be only determined by Pyther himself," Toby said. "But if you mean do I think that corruption plays a part in why it doesn't work, I would have to say yes, and I do think you're right that he may have a slight chance rather than none at all. In fact, I admit I did a bit of testing myself with a mirror I um…well, practically borrowed…from Viviane, and have confirmed that little nibble on your wife's neck didn't taint him either. How I envy the stiff," Toby added with a sigh. Severus glowered at him. "Yes, I know, to the point. I think you were on the right track when you asked Albus about how he was able to straighten out that mess you, Jennifer and your sister made out of the Mallus Craw mirror. Actually, both of the tracks you following concerning that mirror were right…the Pyther problem as well as your ideas about how dimensions in paintings work. Of course, that should hardly be surprising since those two problems are interconnected, but let's not get into that yet. This whole situation is complex enough as it is.

"The bottom line is that you may be able to improve the odds of saving Pyther, for it may well be that one of the problems with this countercurse method is that the soul moves on before it has time to adjust to the abrupt changes. There is way to latch the line between his body and soul to your own personal line, and in a way that will help stabilize his while the attempt is being made. But it is quite dangerous, Severus, for it would put you at great risk if something goes wrong. If the timing isn't right, or if his soul's cord snaps unexpectedly or somehow gets entangled with yours, it may very well cost both your lives," Toby said seriously. "In fact, I'd go as far to say your chances of surviving such an attempt would be no more or less than his own."

"How much of an improvement on the odds would it be if this was done?" Severus asked after a moment. Toby shrugged slightly.

"Considering it's never been tried, it's really hard to say, isn't it?" Toby said. "It'll depend on a lot of factors…the strength of his soul and yours, how much baggage he carries with him over the centuries, how badly he wants it, and if he can manage his fears or not. A sudden panic in the middle of it would be absolutely disastrous." Severus winced.

"You know that's easier said than done with whom we're speaking of," Severus said. Toby pondered it a moment as if he really couldn't make up his mind.

"He has more courage than you might believe, and definitely a lot more than he believes. I don't know if he ever told you, but he was Sorted into Gryffindor first. He fears death more than anything, Severus. In some ways I wonder if that's why his soul hung on like it did the day he was turned into a vampire. But I think his internal war with that fear will come to a head long before he would agree to something as drastic as this. And it's just as well, for if he doesn't work through it, it'd more then likely spell both your deaths. That part of the equation is something you can't fix directly, Severus, fear is quite personal, after all. Even still, if you give him the benefit of the doubt, just as you have by putting him in Defense, and I think he'll pull through for you."

"Yes, well, it sounds as if he'll have to pull through for the both of us, were this to come up." Severus said.

"Already made your mind, have you," Toby said with a thin smile.

"As you've already pointed out, it isn't really my choice to make other than what my own part would be, and that decision hasn't changed. Ultimately what happens is up to him," Severus said, pushing aside the coffee eagerly to look at the scroll. But Toby held it back.

"I am quite sure this has what you need for your research, Severus. Most of the runes in it will be familiar to you, and I may be nice and translate a couple more you may not have run into yet, but there is one condition," Toby said. Severus gazed warily at him.

"There's always a condition with you, isn't there?"

"Yes, well, in most cases, the same holds true in reverse, doesn't it?" Toby challenged him.

"Fine, what is it?" Severus asked with a sigh.

"Simply that you must not attempt this until Hermione is ready to come back and your regular staff is in place. I only ask that you wait until then, after that it should be fairly clear to you when to try it. No matter if he begs, Severus, and even if you think he is actually ready for it…it really is best for all concerned if you wait," Toby said firmly. Severus nodded slowly.

"Fine. Why?" Severus asked. Toby smiled again.

"Severus, you've been studying Ancient magic long enough to know that timing is everything. I'm not going to get into all the reasons, but one I can give you is just how negatively it would reflect on you and the school if one of your staff not only died on your watch but relatively speaking by your own hand. And considering that's one of the lesser reasons behind it, I suggest you simply accept the condition graciously, and prepare to thank me later for it," Toby said, holding it out.

"I don't know why I'd need to thank you for something I'm buying," Severus said, making a point of putting some coins in the jar then before taking it from his hand.

"Yes, well, if people are buying items then they're simply exercising their rights as a consumer to buy whatever they like. And since it's their choice on whether or not to buy something, I'm not directly interfering, you see," Toby explained mischievously.

"Someday when we have more time I really need to blast some holes in that twisted logic of yours," Severus said, putting away the scroll and getting up.

"Happy Christmas, Severus," Toby smiled. "Do try to enjoy it."

"Happy Christmas. Try to stay out of trouble," Severus advised. "If that's even possible."

"No, probably not," Toby admitted, before picking up his book again and finding his place.

Nestled between high cliffs on Oahu, out of the sight of both the Muggle locals and the prying tourists, the private wizard beach, Dragonhead Rock, was a lovely beach to spend any day of the year, even on Christmas. Jacob's parents, convinced before she arrived that 'a Snape' would be less than impressed with their simple thatch hut life style on one of the remote islands (they were both retired naturalists and a bit eccentric even in Alicia's broadened terms), had rented a beach house called the Hale Kahuna. The time difference made it easy for her to have arrived for a late Christmas Eve luau, staying up late enough that she had no trouble crashing afterwards. She awoke to a breeze flapping back the lace curtains in her room, bringing in the ocean kissed air.

This she could get used to, Alicia thought with a grin as she pulled herself out of bed, wondering about the local time and debating whether it was worth the bother resetting her watch for when she was only going to be there for the day. Even with staying up so long, it was a lot earlier than she had thought, knowing that no one else was likely to be up. But that left her an opportunity to get a better look at the beach since it had been dark when she arrived. Slipping on her beach clothes over her bathing suit, she found a pair of basic sandals laid out for her on the porch and contentedly stepped off into the sand. It was so very much like stepping into an entirely different world from her own; so very night and day from the one she had left back home…or rather, day and night. The sky was red and purple, and Alicia longed for a more easterly facing beach. But following the coast for a bit she found a section where the beach curved to meet the cliffs again and by following it around had a better view as the sun began to rise over the water.

If only she could have enjoyed it.

For her thoughts immediately went to Pyther…the kiss the night before…the viewing at the Louvre…and that moment after when he had pointed out a sunrise was nothing they could ever share. She thought about getting up from the rock she had positioned herself on to watch it, wondering if it was best to just walk away, when she heard the sound of footsteps on the rocks and looked over to see Jacob making his way over to her with a smile.

"I knew you'd be up early. These trips do play on one's internal clock, doesn't it?" Jacob said with a grin.

"Care to pull up a rock?" Alicia offered.

"Thank you, don't mind if I do," he said, sitting down next to her contentedly. "My, isn't that a sight for sore eyes after all those weeks of darkness! Lovely, isn't it?"

"Very," Alicia said distractedly.

"I'm half surprised you didn't bring your sketchbook out with you," Jacob teased.

"No, if I did I'd probably find myself sitting for hours. I don't want to spend my day here just sitting around," Alicia said.

"What? Like now?" Jacob grinned.

"Good point," Alicia said, taking one more look over at the sunrise before sliding off the rock. "Besides, I have a present for you, and it's not even a painting."

"Is that even allowed?" Jacob laughed, hopping down.

"I don't suppose your parents are going to be up this early?" Alicia asked.

"What, with all that pork and poi in them? Not likely, but that can soon be remedied," Jacob said mischievously and hurried up the beach, pausing only to kick off his shoes before running inside. "Wake up! Wake up! It's Christmas! Wake up! Santa's come! Santa's come!" he began shouting, jumping up and down on the wooden floors making as much noise as possible while Alicia stood in the doorway engulfed in laughter. After a moment he stopped, listened, and then turned around with a grin. "Okay, they're up."

"And probably half the guests back at the hotel across the beach too," Alicia said snidely, slipping off her sandals and stepping in. A moment later, Jacob's mother Satinka Greencastle stepped in, a little tired but wearing a warm smile.

"Aloha_, Mele Kalikimaka_," she greeted them, and Jacob gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Ditto," Alicia offered with a grin.

"Cheater!" Jacob tsked at her.

"It is so early! Haven't you outgrown that?" Satinka asked.

"Apparently he hasn't," Jacob's father, Newt, said as he walked in from the bedroom.

"Well, it's two hours later for me, and nearly half a world later for Alicia, so have some heart. She just got used to the time change going home and here I am throwing it for a loop again," Jacob grinned.

"I'm used to weird hours," Alicia said, waving it off.

"So are we, when our son is home," Satinka said dryly, but Jacob simply beamed in response. "Come, breakfast first, then presents. Jacob, you get the rice."

"Rice?" Alicia wondered.

"Don't worry, everything else is pretty normal," Jacob whispered to her. But Alicia doubted it when the four of them went into the kitchen and Newton was opening a square can of meat that made a very unpleasant sound when it slid out onto a plate. She then watched with some skepticism when he sliced it and threw it into a frying pan. Satinka brought out the eggs, but when she saw Alicia standing there frowning suspiciously at the entire cooking proceedings took a moment to show her how to use a French press to make coffee. In no time they had their cups and plates and brought them quite informally into the living room, Alicia skirting around the mystery meat for the eggs and rice.

"Oh, come on, Alicia, anyone who can handle eating raw walrus can try a bit of processed pork," Jacob teased her maliciously.

"She ate raw walrus? Did the walrus bite her back?" Newt wanted to know, and his son laughed in response.

"The seal meat I tried was better," Alicia admitted with a grin, but the admission only made Jacob point her to her plate again. Seeing that everyone was peering at her expectantly, Alicia sighed and took a bite, earning a round of applause after the others even after she set the plate aside after the fact in favor of the coffee while they began to distribute gifts.

Unlike Christmas at home, which was mostly gadgets, gizmos and fun stuff, the Greencastles presents seemed mostly home made or practical; from shell jewelry, to potted plants and shirts with many of their relatives in Ireland and Scotland sending along care packages of shortbread, jams, and whiskey. Alicia was glad she had gone for her mother's failsafe gifts of a basket of tea, gingerbread, biscuits and candy for Jacob's parents, for it was received with obvious appreciation. They, in turn, had given her a fanciful wooden Santa paddling a canoe, charmed so it would paddle itself in the water and even turn itself over if it got swept up in a wave and paddle to shore if it got too far out.

"This is great! I can't wait to see it," Alicia said.

"Oh, look! I found a very small one for Alicia! Is it from you, Jacob?" his mother asked brightly.

"No, that's not mine," Jacob said with bewilderment, ignoring his mother's obvious disappointment since it was obviously jewelry of some kind. "It has marks of some sort on it instead of a regular signature."

"How odd, I thought everyone decided just to leave my things under the tree until I got back home," Alicia said with a frown, then glanced at the tag. "Oh, that's my father's seal, and here's mother's too. They sign anything they send through the post with special symbols so we're sure it's from them instead of some imposter trying to curse us or something," she explained. Newt and Satinka exchanged curious glances at that, but watched with interest as she unwrapped it, gently opening the latch on the Tassels and Panning box to reveal a large heart pendant with a pale yellow stone on a gold chain.

"Ah, how lovely! Is it a topaz?" Satinka asked.

"Knowing my father's taste in jewelry, I'd say it's a canary diamond," Alicia said, carefully taking it out and looking under its velvet lining knowing there'd be a note. Jacob whistled low.

"Maybe I should have gone into teaching," he joked.

"I wouldn't. From what Andrew has been telling me, Father has invested more in the school than he's been paid since he took over as Headmaster," Alicia chuckled, then unfolded the note.

_Alicia. The enclosed gift from your mother and myself has been enhanced with a protection and detection charm that you may find useful in the days ahead. One flash be wary; two flashes beware; three flashes; be gone. That is my advice, and I hope you will heed it._

_P.S. This pendant does NOT contain any sort of family danger detectors or homing device charms on it. You are an adult now and I'm quite certain you know by now and when you can handle things and when to ask for help. At least, that's the theory behind not including one at any rate; that and the fact I'm sure you wouldn't wear it if it had. Happy Christmas S_

"It has some sort of protection charm on it, but Father doesn't really say what it does," Alicia explained, looking thoughtful. "They don't often do that, normally they spell out what all charms are on any item they give us like this."

"Would it be so terrible just to trust them for a change?" Jacob said with a smile.

"Yes, actually," Alicia admitted, but put on the necklace anyway. "But I'd really rather not talk about my parents just now, if you don't mind."

"How about you open mine then?" Jacob suggested with a grin, holding out a present. His parents looked over intently, but suddenly lost interest when they realized it was too long and a bit too big for what they were hoping for. Alicia grinned nervously at him and opened it, revealing a long wooden box covered with detailed scrollwork.

"Oh, it's a new brush case! I've been needing one of these," Alicia said.

"I know it isn't a very big one, but I noticed some of your brushes were just every which way in your case and I figured it'd at least protect your better ones," Jacob said.

"Artists tend to be a bit disorganized," Alicia chuckled with a nod. "Thank you! Oh, you meanie, now I just know I'll end up getting my art kit out later to try and organize it, after I promised I wouldn't get near it! Open yours now, Jacob, so I can be tempted away from it!"

"Now you have me worried," he chuckled, accepting the square box from her.

"Just be careful when you open it. I packed it in a box smaller than it is so you wouldn't guess it," Alicia grinned. Carefully he untied the ribbon and peered in.

"Is it a paddle? What, did you stuff a canoe in there?" he joked then pulled up a broom with a flat, wide handle. "Ah, it's a surfing broom, I should have guessed," Jacob laughed.

"Like he'd ever use it," Newt snorted.

"Why not? I've got him on one before," Alicia grinned.

"What, really? We've been trying to get him on one ever since we moved here a few years ago," Satinka said in surprise.

"Yes, well, I saw Alicia do it, and she made it look easy," Jacob explained, gazing at it. "It's not, by the way…"

"You do fine out there, Jacob," Alicia protested.

"Well…I may be able to handle St. Trop okay, but have you seen the waves here?" he said dubiously. Alicia grinned and nodded.

"Let's go test it out," Alicia said grabbing his arm and pulling him up.

"Now?" he gaped.

"Go on, we'll come down to the beach in a bit," Satinka said before starting to straighten up the room.

"Oh, all right, but I hope I don't break anything important," Jacob said as Alicia pulled a regular racing broom out of her cloak and the two of them walked back onto the beach.

Since she was little, Alicia had felt as much control with a broom as she did with a brush; perhaps even more. The kids and teens who had come out to the beach to break in their new surfing brooms and witch boards and other enchanted gear watched curiously as Alicia tossed down her towel, stripped down to her swimsuit and walked towards the ocean.

"Are you really going to try surfing with a Quidditch broom?" one of the teens there asked. "You'll never stay on it. That expensive broom will be smashed into splinters."

"Not really. I do it all the time," Alicia said with a shrug.

"She does do it all the time," Jacob agreed with an enigmatic smile on his face, stopping at the shoreline.

"Aren't you coming?" Alicia frowned.

"I'll catch the next one, I promise," Jacob said with a grin.

"If not I'll just hex you in," Alicia warned him with a shrug before she climbed on her broom, hovering just above the waves.

Alicia's keen sense of perspective made it easy for her to fly with her toes bare touching the foamy peaks, finally rising higher to study the waves and the reef curling in the distance to see how they were breaking. Finally she saw something promising and skidded back down, putting her ankles up on the end of the broom handle before pushing off with her arms and leaping onto her feet, toes curled for balance and control, with only the very edge of the broom in the water to act like a rudder. As much power as mother nature had calling the enormous wave building around her, Alicia at the moment felt as if it were nothing compared to hers. For a fleeting moment, it seemed as if she controlled the world around her, her life, and her destiny, pulling out of a barrel and soaring out ahead of the wave's energy as it broke behind her, a large crowd standing at the shoreline. It was that reason Jacob had wanted to stay behind that first run, watching the expressions on their faces as she pulled away as if she had tamed the ocean into doing her bidding.

"Who's that girl?" the boy who had tried to warn her going in asked when he finally gained control of his lower jaw.

"That's Alicia Snape…and she's with me," Jacob said with a smug grin before waltzing in after her, while the other boys began to talk among themselves.

It was well after noon before Jacob could convince her to break for lunch, but it wasn't longer than it took to grab a few kabobs from a stand and some drinks from where Jacob's parents were sitting before she wanted to go out again.

"Wait, wait, wait, at least let the food settle first," Jacob protested, pulling her over to where they had put down their towels. But the moment they sat down, they suddenly found a great many other towels being put by theirs. Alicia sighed. She knew getting out of the ocean was a mistake.

"Aloha," said one of the boys who had put his towel down near theirs. "Ever played Quidditch? Professionally, I mean?"

"Nope, just in school," Alicia shrugged.

"Which one?" asked a girl standing next to him, holding their brooms.

"Hogwarts," admitted reluctantly.

"So she is one of those Snapes after all?" asked another man coming up, a few years older than the boy and might have been his older brother. "Are you related to Severus Snape?"

"Never heard of him," Alicia said expressionlessly, ignoring the look Jacob was giving her.

"Oh, come on, you can't have gone to Hogwarts and not heard of him, so either you didn't go there or you have," he said.

"You have me there," Alicia agreed. "I'll let you figure out which," she said before fishing out her dark sunglasses and lying down to sunbathe, pretending they weren't there.

"She doesn't look like a Snape," the girl commented as she sat down.

"Thank God for small miracles," Alicia said emphatically. Jacob chuckled and shook his head.

"Doesn't really look like a Craw either, does she? I heard Snape's wife was supposed to be an auburn haired raving beauty," the older brother said, getting a beer out of the cooler he'd been lugging around and then sitting on it.

"No way, Tanker. I'm pretty sure those pics of her are doctored before they're released. PR and all that," the teen boy said.

"Either that or she's got more preservatives in her than a Twinkie," the girl said. Alicia suddenly sat up and took off her sunglasses.

"Uh oh," Jacob said in a low voice.

"Say whatever you like about Professor Snape. More than likely whatever you come up with, I'll agree with you. But if you insult my mother again, you are going to find yourself buried up to your neck in sand…with your feet straight down," she added, pointing to the ground and then pointing out towards the waves. "Somewhere out there. Probably out under one of the warning buoys by the reef," she added for good measure.

"Are you threatening us?" the boy sitting next to her said, standing up.

"Snapes don't threaten. And we only give one warning," Alicia said with a flash in her eyes.

"Woah, Alicia! Calm down!" Jacob said, quickly jumping between them. "I'm sure Judge Vallid doesn't need to be coming out here for a murder trial." Alicia thought about it a moment, still eyeing the girl with open dislike.

"How about assault with intent to cause brain damage?" Alicia said toyingly.

"How about we go for a walk so you can cool down?" Jacob said. "Somewhere more private."

"Is there such a place?" Alicia wondered, but pulled on her shorts and beach shirt, accepting Jacob's hand up.

"Isn't very nice, is she?" the older brother commented.

"Awfully rude," the girl agreed, Jacob firmly leading Alicia away.

"Like father like daughter," Alicia said curtly.

"Come on, Alicia," Jacob said with exasperation, leading her back over to the rocky side of the beach where they had watched the sunrise that morning.

Before long the two of them were climbing the rocks and then made their way up the cliff face until they had gotten halfway up on a mossy ledge, looking for hand and footholds that weren't there. Jacob sat down, gazing up at the ten feet above them and the thirty odd feet below them.

"Well! I suppose we are a little stuck, but at least it's private," Jacob offered.

"Nah, I'm never stuck," Alicia said with a shrug, sitting down beside him. "We can spider climb up or levitate down, just pick a direction."

"Do you really have your wand on you?" he chuckled with surprise and she nodded. "Where could you possibly put it?" Alicia shrugged and reached in her shirt, pulling on a small cord in the front of her bathing suit and pulling out a waterproof wand pouch.

"Well, it must be nice having extra storage space," he teased. "If I try to hide my wand in my bathing suit, I'd get snide comments."

"Yeah, my brothers don't wear that sort, they wear the baggy shorts variety, even though knowing Andrew he wouldn't mind the comments if they came from the right girl," Alicia grinned.

"Them too? Don't you Snapes ever let your guard down?" Jacob asked with exasperation.

"Can't afford to, really," Alicia sighed. "What you saw at the research center was mild compared to what we've been through. Perhaps if I had put my wand on me somehow instead of under my pillow that night I'd have been better off."

"I am really sorry about all of that," Jacob murmured.

"Oh, it wasn't your fault, you really had nothing to do with it," Alicia protested. "I brought it on myself in a lot of ways, and I am so glad you weren't hurt."

"Other than a little trauma and a bit of lost blood," Jacob said with a dry chuckle, conscientiously rubbing his neck. "But I did get to meet some interesting people out of it all! I mean, it isn't every day one gets to meet someone like Harry Potter!"

"Yes it is, I see him all the time," Alicia grinned.

"Yes, well, and of course I met his daughter Jamie and your brother as well…head of the Auror department in Britain, too!"

"The only reason my brother is head of the Aurors is because Minister Malfoy won't have anything to do with Harry," Alicia grinned. "My brother may be their direct link to my grandfather, but Harry is the one who really runs the show there, they just don't officially acknowledge it."

"Your grandfather, oh yes, that's right, LE Minister, vigilante during the Voldemort years…goodness, Alicia, your family is so dynamic it's like dating royalty," Jacob said with a grin.

"And we're just as dysfunctional," Alicia said dryly.

"Everyone thinks their family is dysfunctional. At least you weren't a product of the Peace Corps. They didn't even get married until we left Peru when I was five," Jacob chuckled. "I suppose they must seem rather odd to you."

"Eccentric, perhaps, but I'm used to that," Alicia said. "And, um, a little pushy…"

"Oh, yes, I know. They were that way about Zoë, too. They think it's time I settled down, and all. But if there's one thing your cousin taught me, it's that I need to be with someone who respects my work, and honestly, gives me the time to do it. But someone perhaps with their own passion and goals in life that I could root for in return," he added, gazing at her intently.

"So you mean me," Alicia said cautiously.

"Well, if you're willing to apply for the job," Jacob said mischievously. He then cautiously leaned over and kissed her; a very loving, caressing kiss. But it didn't take long to realize that Alicia was having some trouble returning it. In fact, even as a warm, sunny tingle spread through him, Alicia found that she felt nothing at all short of the physical act of kissing. Perhaps there would have been something had it not been for what had happened to her the evening before. But that memory suddenly blasted through her as she tried to compare them, causing her to waver, so when Jacob pulled back and looked into her eyes it was not difficult to tell something was wrong.

"Ah damn," he murmured softly, a sad smile appearing on his face. "No sparks."

"I'm sorry, Jacob…" Alicia began, but he put his hand on her lips.

"If it isn't there, it isn't there, Alicia," Jacob said. "It wasn't as if we didn't do our best to explore the possibility. We did work so well together…perhaps it was just too much for me, coming off a divorce like that and you…"

"And me," Alicia said, but didn't finish what she was going to say at first, pulling her legs to her chest and looking out to sea. "Do you know what I love? I love all these times we've spent together…here, and at St. Trop. I love standing in the cold watching the Aurora, I love waking up to your coffee and spending hours convincing each other it was time to take a break for a frozen dinner. I loved teaching you how to broom surf, and going out to eat watching you pick at your food and fuss over how much I was drinking."

"Yes, you love all that, but you don't love me," Jacob said softly, but still somehow managing a smile.

"It's been a wonderful escape," Alicia said with a nod, looking out to sea. "But that's where the problem is, because I've spent the last eight years trying to escape all the insanity that was my life. And I must say, my time at the research center and seeing you were some of the best escapes I've had so far, but it wouldn't be fair to either of us to continue when I've been doing it to get away from who I really am. Going home again these last few weeks really opened up my eyes to that. I'm a Snape, and it's about time I stopped trying to be something I'm not and learn how to live with myself again."

"And I suppose our friend the nocturnal artist whom I guess followed you home had nothing to do with that?" Jacob inquired. Alicia made a face.

"He didn't follow me home. He was already there," Alicia admitted in a low voice.

"He's always been there," Jacob said with a knowing smile. "Come on, we'd better be heading back so I can explain to my parents how I let another one get away."

"I really am sorry about all of this," Alicia said emphatically, knowing he was probably a lot more hurt than he was showing.

"It's all right, I'm used to it. Nice guys always finish last, you know," Jacob said with a chuckle. "Maybe I need to learn how to be mean or something."

"Don't you dare, I like you just the way you are," Alicia protested, getting out her wand. "We are still friends, right?"

"Always," Jacob said with a smile. "So, if you ever need a wizard weather specialist…hm, all right, how about you just visit me now and again?"

"Deal," Alicia said with a grin before levitating them back down to the shoreline.


	36. Tests and Theories

_A/N Finished this book last night, so expect quicker updates and watch your chapter numbers so you don't miss any. It is a huge book; I had to put a lot of series setup in it, but my first reaction from my proofer was very positive, so hopefully you'll like it. Anyhow, here's another chapter for you! JCWriter _

Thirty-Six

Tests and Theories

Francis rubbed the worry stone in his pocket distractedly as he wandered out of the crypt and up the stairs, his mind on the note that Corey had given him with it, and he found himself pulling it out to read it again.

_Pyther... I got this stone one Christmas from Alicia, ironically enough; it has a Dragonheart Diamond in it that if you rub it will glow if your Cosmic Match is around. See, after seeing my new parents together, I had made up my mind that I was going to wait until the right girl came along, no matter how long it took, or just go without. They tried to talk me out of it…fifty-two times all told, but it was more out of worry that I was setting my expectations too high than anything. But had I not waited, I would have never realized she was nearby, growing up under my nose. Then one day it hit me…well, maybe it hit me a little earlier than it should have considering she was a seventh year… but the odd thing is that when you actually think to look at this stone, you already know the answer before you even see it. Still, there's something very reassuring to know when you've been right all along. It's so easy to let self-doubt get in the way of stuff like this. Of course, even if I hadn't had it, something Dad once told me is just as convincing. He told me that you would recognize love by just how damned inconvenient it is when it happens. Man, it sure was for me. Doesn't come close to yours though…Mom and Dad's maybe…anyhow, use it in good faith, old friend. You'll find yourself soon wondering why you ever doubted it at all. Corey._

Pyther stubbed his toe on the step and looked up, realizing he had gone up one more flight than he had intended and turned to walk back down to the second floor, folding up the note. So Corey, at least, was convinced that Alicia and he were meant to be together, but how could that be possible, six hundred years apart? That, more than anything else, had always troubled him, but then when are such matches chosen? Perhaps he had been matchless originally, being dead at twenty-three and all…but was it truly something of a divine order, or simply that fateful night with the muse that tied them? And if so, did that make them any less meant for each other? Pyther sighed at himself angrily. What did it really matter, one way or the other? No, it did matter, Francis realized, for it would make things a lot easier for everyone concerned if it was just the Leanan Sidhe's doing and somewhere out there was who Alicia was really meant to be with…in fact, perhaps she was with Jacob at that very moment…Francis tried to clear the anger boiling up at the thought of Jacob or anyone else with her, knowing he was completely out of line. Isn't that what he wanted, after all, as long as she was happy? Besides, in a few hundred years, what difference was it all going to make, when she was long gone and he was the same as he always has been? Francis strode into the potion room and straight over to the art closet with full intentions of pulling out the Alicia painting and working off the flood of emotions threatening to erupt.

"Good evening, Pyther," said a voice from behind him. Leaping up in complete terror, Francis twisted around to see Jennifer sitting at the desk, wincing when she saw his reaction to his presence. Feeling ready to swoon, Francis put his back to the closet and slid down the front of it, trying to clear his head. "Oh, Pyther! I am sorry," Jennifer said, getting up and going over to him. "I did say I would be back tonight, did you forget? You haven't eaten tonight, have you?"

"I…haven't made it to my office, yet…" he stammered.

"Well, you really have got to stay on it. There's nothing worse than a vampire with thin blood, especially when…" Jennifer hesitated, seeing something change in expression.

"Especially when one's a coward to begin with?" Francis finished, ignoring her hand up and slowly getting to his feet.

"You're not a coward, Francis, you're just easily startled when your mind is on other things," Jennifer said gently. "Why don't you go get something to eat and I'll try to finish up the test schedule I'm on, then we can get those painting tests set up. I hope we didn't lose any more paintings during the holiday," Jennifer frowned.

"I didn't notice any, but I'll check more thoroughly after we're done," Francis said.

"I will help you, Pyther. Boy, will I be glad when more of the staff gets back. It's going to be so hard to have everything ready in time!" Jennifer said with open frustration. Francis suddenly felt a little guilty about spending so much time on the painting lately, knowing his class agendas should have been further than what they were as well.

"I'll be back as quick as I can," Francis said, slipping down the corridor. Jennifer watched him go, letting out a long sigh as she thought about what she had read from him when he had first entered the room.

Trying to put it out of her mind for now, she scribbled a few notes to herself on the page she was on then got into her potion cabinet for the test phials. A few moments later, Francis slipped in and got in the painter's closet for the paint of the hands holding the box, putting it on the easel. Jennifer in turn went to her desk and opened up her Puzzle Box, taking out a heavy metal box with a series of valves on five sides and put it next to a set of large glass tubes, hooking one of them to the top of the box.

"I've already ran some extensive tests on the box itself and gauged relative potency loss and air discrepancies in the gas levels," Jennifer said, tightening the valves carefully and checking the lab for any leaks throughout. "If Severus' theory is correct and it goes through an in-between dimension before the gas reaches the box, it should show up in the readings as a greater loss than control. Grab one of the ones with the green dot on the stopper and twist it a quarter of a turn before you put it in the box. The stopper should come free on its own." Pyther peered curiously on the potion rack to see each one had been color-coded and picked one of the three green ones.

"What does it do?" Pyther asked, cautiously turning the stopper and putting it in the box in the painting.

"The green ones are simply basic smoke and concealment. The yellow one is the same but set for a twenty-four hour release. The red is something Severus cooked up in case these first few don't work the way we want. It contains distilled residue that we got from the dust. The orange is the time release version of that."

"Why would you add that?" Pyther asked in surprise, but became distracted when the stopper popped off and the painting became clouded with smoke. "There it goes."

"I have it," Jennifer said, watching the gas work its way out of the pipes and pass through several different testing bulbs. Jennifer quickly scribbled down some notes and numbers, frowning at the results a moment before she flipped another release valve on the metal box and the remainder of the gas expelled out into second set of pipes to dissipate. "Any lingering haze in the painting, Pyther?"

"No, the smoke only appeared for a second or two before it faded away," Pyther said.

"My numbers are a tad lower than control, but well inside margin of error. There could be a pocket of air somewhere or something throwing it off just as easily as anything," Jennifer said with a sigh before checking the box to make sure it was clear before snapping the valves shut again. "Another green, please!" Jennifer ran her numbers again for the last two gasses, completely unsurprised when she got similar results but still so small a difference as to be unrevealing. "Honestly, I shouldn't be surprised, I knew this wouldn't work."

"But Jennifer, considering the gas itself is still showing up in the painting and not just the depiction of the phial, doesn't that mean there must be some getting through?" Pyther asked. Jennifer sighed.

"I don't know, Pyther, really, maybe if these figures are right. But if they are correct, we're talking about a very trace amount getting into that special dimension. If we have to use that method to try and administer a cure, it'd mean it'd have to be extremely potent to even stand a chance of working its way in."

"I don't see how we could possibly administer it to an already sick painting. Can one still use a portal portrait when it's infected?" Pyther asked.

"Yes, well, that's the next part of the experiment," Jennifer said, walking over to him and tapping the phial with the black dot on it. "Infected dust. We're going to intentionally contaminate this painting. First, let's clear some paintings out from the far corner behind my desk. We can put them in the closet for now…"

"I'll do that, Jennifer," Francis volunteered quickly, pulling out his wand to start levitating them down.

"Then, I need to get the painting infected and then put the time release in so we can see if the potion will still leak anything into the dimension if the painting is clouded. But with these numbers, I admit it'll be hard to tell," Jennifer murmured.

"And what of those doctored potions you spoke of?" Francis asked curiously.

"We try those if nothing else seems to be working," Jennifer explained, glancing over the numbers with a frown. "Although if I were you, I'd start making a second test painting as soon as you have time."

But Jennifer soon found that time was a luxury that neither of them really had. She spent the next night in the potion room to finish up her agendas, pausing only to watch the release to go off on the now-clouded painting and write down all the numbers. At her insistence, Pyther went to work on his, stopping only to put the test painting in quarantine before heading down to his office, while Jennifer made her way up to Severus' office to drop off the test results. He was hard at work at his desk, barely looking up when she came in but holding his hand and she put her research in it.

"Trace results at best, Professor," Jennifer said. Severus gave her a dirty look in response, knowing full well this was her way of saying 'I told you so.'

"The timed release still went off?" he asked before flipping the page to look at it.

"No interference from the painting being clouded, apparently."

"Yes, and it has the exact same discrepancy as the others, I see, so that's something I suppose," Severus said, putting it aside.

"Or I simply don't have this lab as tight as the one at home, since I ran most of my control experiments there," Jennifer pointed out. "I'm working on used equipment here, borrowed at that."

"As if Tonks makes much use of it," Severus said, but didn't miss Jennifer's irritated look. "Very well, I'll have Corey make you up more test phials so you can double check before we try mine. However, since the infections seem to have subsided, it can wait until we've finished preparing for the new semester. Have you had time to work on Potions agenda?"

"Some, I still need to update the tests to add in formulas," Jennifer admitted, "But I do have the list of labs I want to teach done."

"Fine. Pyther?"

"Working on it now. I gave him all my old Defense notes to work with, they're a bit out of date but I thought they'd be a good starting point," Jennifer said.

"Considering how unorthodox you taught that course it should probably suit him," Severus said, ignoring the squinting look Jennifer gave him as she tried to get a good read on him to see if he meant that as a jibe or not. "Keep him on it, and get in touch with anyone you haven't heard from about the agenda changes. I'm going to need a full list on my desk by the second."

"The second? But that's less than a week!" Jennifer gaped. "I haven't heard from anyone outside of the castle yet…"

"Then start sending out Owls and get on them, Professor Craw, it is a part of the job, you know. I need to hear what everyone has planned as soon as possible in case any changes need to be made. Include a summary of any new material any of the professors have proposed along with it," Severus said, not looking up. "Oh, and don't forget to send payroll to Gringott's. You did remember to shift Francis to staff?"

"Um…yeah," Jennifer said distantly, but found herself wondering if she had adjusted the budget accordingly. "I think I'll go check Hermione's office and see if anyone's checked in on those agendas."

"Fine," Severus said with a curt nod before going back to his paperwork. But when Jennifer wandered out of the room, Severus allowed himself a moment's pause to think about the situation, shaking his head with a sigh.

Severus saw very little of Jennifer after that. In fact, had it not been for the Map, the watch, and the occasional presence of her cold feet on his back at night, he might have almost forgotten he was married at all. Paperwork showed up on his desk, a bit disorganized but still complete, and somehow it managed to get there on time, if not at the last possible second. Had he seen the state of Hermione's office, he might have been more concerned, perhaps, but fortunately when he did finally decide to track her down a day before the students arrived she was in her own office, double checking the alchemy notations she had added.

"Don't you ever stop to eat anymore?" Severus asked from where he stood in the doorway, scowling at her.

"I thought that was my line," Jennifer chuckled at him but put down her quill when he pointed at her unkempt desk with a frown. Quickly she stacked everything out of the way so he could put the lunch tray down in front of them. "To be honest, I've actually missed having that blasted Cauldron around this week to get porridge whenever I needed. I'll be so glad to get it back."

"So will I, but mostly because I don't feel comfortable with the Ministry's idea of security," Severus said. "Not that it hasn't gotten better since your father's been there."

"Much better," Jennifer agreed. "Except for that little incident with the feather."

"An inside job, technically speaking, as most of their security breaches are. Not to mention I seem to recall that involving a Snape, or something."

"Yes, I seem to recall that," Jennifer said dryly.

"By the way, I don't suppose you've gone down there to look over the current estimates? I would have expected a bill on my desk by now…"

"I have that…um…somewhere…" Jennifer said, and then saw the frown on his face. "Severus, please, can we not talk about work for even half an hour? I haven't done this job in years and as you'll recall the last time it was as punishment. Now I'm stuck doing it when I didn't do anything to deserve it," she said with a chuckle.

"I know the feeling," Severus said dryly. "You did remember to give yourself a temporary raise, I hope?" Jennifer sighed.

"No, come to think of it, I didn't, and it isn't as if it wouldn't be pointless since nearly every penny we have that's not tied up in something has been going into the school anyhow," Jennifer said.

"Well, hopefully the auction this spring will compensate for some of what the school 'borrowed' for the potion lab. I don't suppose you've had time to send a form letter out with the owls about item donations for that?" Severus asked. Jennifer glared at him murderously. "Never mind. Just send me up a current copy of the friends and alumni lists and I'll take care of that myself."

Jennifer sighed and glanced at the sandwiches in front of them with no interest at all, pulling over the coffee only to stare at it and push it away again.

"And you wonder why I've gotten so churlish," Severus said and got up, walking over to her components shelf and began pulling ingredients off of it.

"At least you're good at what you do, Severus," Jennifer protested. "It's the fact that I'm so bad at the job that I hate so much."

"Nonsense. You're doing quite well under the circumstances," he said without looking around.

"Severus, I'm a disorganized mess," Jennifer said bluntly.

"You've always been disorganized," he said, glancing at the labels with a frown. "As this potion shelf of yours clearly demonstrates."

"Exactly, that's precisely my point," Jennifer chuckled, shaking her head.

"You'll feel better once you're back in front of a class again," Severus said, turning on the burners.

"Maybe," Jennifer admitted, watching him distractedly. "I wonder if anyone has had their baby yet."

"Potentially, you'll be one of the first to know if you work from Hermione's office," Severus pointed out.

"That's right, the book's in there," Jennifer said thoughtfully.

"There, you see, there's a benefit to this after all. Now, try to get a sandwich down so this sedative doesn't turn your stomach. I think you could do with a good night's rest," Severus said. Jennifer smiled softly, her thoughts going back to that first rough night when she had started teaching and found she had already begun to feel a lot better about the whole situation before he had even gotten the potion to a simmer.

Lucky couldn't help but be grateful to hear the whistle of the train in the distance. It had been pretty quiet the last few days, and despite the constant owls from her friends she was glad to be finally seeing them again. Most of that time she had spent getting used to the idea of having a familiar, not to mention one who had been trying from the very first night to convince the girl that he was the one in charge by appearing when and where he wanted, often when it was most inconvenient. Lucky, however, was not going to have any of that, and turned her room upside down and inside out to pull the rabbit out of wherever it was he tried to hide at no matter how long it took her to find him. In fact, when Connie arrived on the train that night every bureau drawer was pulled out and all the blankets had been stripped off the bed, while Lucky was busy chucking her stuff out of the closet.

"What are you doing?" Connie asked with a sigh.

"Trying to show that stupid rabbit of mine who's boss!" Lucky seethed. "He chewed up my Arithmantic notes!"

"Oh, you got a rabbit?" Connie repeated.

"I got a pain in the ass escape artist is what I got," Lucky spat.

"Don't you have a hat?" Connie sighed. Lucky peered out of the closet in confusion. "What's the rabbit's name?" she asked, opening up her trunk and digging inside, pulling out a wooly cap.

"I dunno, I haven't figured it out yet," Lucky admitted.

"Do you at least have a carrot?" she asked. Lucky searched around and then pulled a carrot from under the bed, and Connie sighed, putting the carrot in the hat and used her hand to keep the hat shut tight. "Here, little buck, come get your carrot!" she said.

"Hey, don't call him names, he can't help his teeth being like that!" Lucky scowled. Connie rolled her eyes.

"Male rabbits are called bucks, Lucky, and as you can see…" she said, pausing to open the hat. "Here he is!" Connie pulled the rabbit out of her hat and looked over at Lucky who was staring at her with a dropped jaw. "There, you see? It's not so hard once you remind him where his next meal is coming from. He's a Holland lop, isn't he?"

"Yeah, I guess. How do you know so much about rabbits?" Lucky asked with annoyance, accepting the rabbit out of her arms and putting him back in his cage.

"My mother has one, an English lop named Velveteen," Connie explained, then went over and put the hat in the rabbit's cage. "There, leave that in there and he'll probably start sleeping in it, so he should start returning to his cage when he gets tired."

"Now why didn't Professor Craw tell me any of that? She had a rabbit!" Lucky scowled, staring at her rabbit a moment before starting to pick up the room.

"Probably hoped you'd figure it out yourself," Connie grinned at her and pitched in getting the room back in order, and between them they were able to get it back together again before heading down to dinner. "Still planning to meet tonight?"

"Yeah, Ambrose said he has something for us," Lucky explained as they walked down the stairs. "And wait until you see how many points we got now…" she began, but Connie had suddenly stopped short on their way to the table, staring at the hourglasses. "Our points? Look at Hufflepuffs!" she gaped. Sure enough, Hufflepuff was well ahead of any of the other houses by well over fifty points when they had been trailing all three just before they left.

"Yeah, I know. It's the same points," Lucky grinned, jerking her head over at the large crowd at the Hufflepuff table. As the two of them came closer, Constance could plainly see that at the center of attention was Ambrose Bailey, as well as the most extraordinary wooden owl that she had ever seen.

"His name is Archimedes. Toby the Tinker made him," Ambrose said while the wooden owl nipped at his ear affectionately.

"He is very nice, but really, I can't see how anyone could possibly consider him a familiar. He's just a toy," Delia said critically. "I received a little wooden hedgehog of Toby's for Christmas myself."

"And probably just as prickly as you are," Terrence retorted.

"I don't think any of the Professors who allow familiars in their classes are going to buy that thing is a familiar for a moment," Delia said. "Familiars are only real animals."

"They aren't always animals, my sister had a plant as a familiar," Ambrose said defensively.

"Rose had a plant as a familiar?" Lindsay said with amusement. "That figures."

"Honestly, he's just making up stories again!" Delia said with exasperation.

"Just like he made up those hundred points in our glass, eh, Delia?" Terrence said with a smile. "Ambrose, I don't care what anyone else says. If you say he's your familiar, as far as I'm concerned he is, and that's that."

"Thanks, Terrence," Ambrose said, and Archimedes began to bob his head in apparent approval. "Hiya Lucky! Library tonight?"

"Library," Lucky agreed with a nod, glancing at Lindsay who nodded with a smile as well.

"What could you possibly have to do in the library tonight when we don't even have a clue what our classes going to be like yet?" Delia asked. "Or do you know something we don't?"

"Oh, shut up, Delia," several Hufflepuffs said at once.

"You guys do whatever you have to do, Ambrose, you earned it. I'll grab your schedules," Terrence said.

"Thanks, Terrence!" Ambrose said with a beaming smile.

"We'll see you in a bit then," Connie said, and the two of them turned back towards the Gryffindor table. "Things have really turned around for Ambrose over there, hasn't it?"

"Ya," Lucky said, thinking the same thing as they found their seats, receiving several warm greetings of their own from the Gryffindor table.

Much to the surprise of the Fifth House members, Boulderdash came in as the seven of them settled into place with their schedules in hand.

"How in the world did you get those?" Helena asked with open surprise.

"I had a feeling you would be down here tonight, and I happen to have some pull when required," Boulderdash said with his customary, toothy, half-smile half-sneer. "Let's see…Bailey, yours. Black, Glass, Lupin, Snape, and Weasleys," he said. He pondered the last one in his hand thoughtfully. "Hm, got one that perhaps I shouldn't have. Be right back," he said with another sneer before slipping out the door and out into the library where Dale Chance sat, reading. Boulderdash squinted at him a moment then dropped his schedule in front of him. Dale blinked at him in stunned surprise, watching as the goblin went back inside. Meanwhile, the others were busy looking curiously over their schedules.

"Why is it that my Defense class is at night?" Pimra asked curiously.

"I was wondering the same thing myself," Helena agreed.

"Our class has moved to night as well," Laura said, comparing her schedule to Lindsay's.

"There can be only one reason for it," Ambrose said, glancing at Lucky. "I guess we know what class Mr. Pyther's teaching now."

"Pyther teachin' Defense? _Él es loco!_ The Professor's gone mad or somethin'!" Lucky said.

"Bet you get better marks this time, though," Ambrose teased her.

"I'm just glad we don't have those awful books anymore," Lindsay said.

"Thanks in part to me," Ambrose said smugly.

"Ya, well, don't let it go to your head, Bill," Lucky glowered. "Besides, didn't you say we had more important stuff to talk about than your big ego?"

"You don't have to put it that way," Ambrose said indignantly, but the other girls were grinning at Lucky in agreement. "Anyhow, when I got home to talk to Mum about badges or something, I realized we never really drew out a crest or anything that everyone agreed on, just picked colors, so we made these," he said, and brought out two bags, one with brown armbands trimmed on one edge with a rose gold colored satin and a set of spidersilk ties with brown and rose gold stripes. "Consider them late Christmas presents," Ambrose grinned and passed them around.

"These are fabulous!" Lindsay said.

"Yes, these are great," Connie said, but hadn't noticed the troubled look on Helena's face.

"You don't have to wear the ties if you don't want," Ambrose said, noticing the Slytherin's reaction as well. "But it'd be nice to where at least the arm patches when we're participating in something together or cheering for a fellow housemate."

"I'm sure I can work something out," Helena said, when it was obvious that everyone had noticed her reaction. "But I was wondering if we could talk about points for a moment. Thanks to Ambrose, our points are actually on the same level as the rest of the houses, despite the fact there's only seven of us."

"Not only on the same level, we're ahead of Slytherin," Laura pointed out. Helena nodded to her.

"And I think I know another way we can earn even more. The sparring tournament will be coming up soon. Anyone else participating besides Lucky?" Lucky grimaced at the reminder that she had no choice in the matter.

"The thing is we only cover the first three years, and we have to compete against each other for the top spot. It's more likely it'll just give the other houses more opportunities to pick up points rather than us," Lindsay said.

"Still, we should all participate, give it our best shot. And I wouldn't mind getting beat by Lucky or something, long one of us won anyhow," Ambrose grinned. "How about you, Pimra? You gonna sign up?"

"I don't know, I'm really not good at that sort of thing," Pimra admitted.

"If you ask me, all you need is a bit more confidence," Helena said. "Besides, it's really more about showing up and doing our best. That's worked out for us pretty well so far."

"Fine, but don't be surprised if I'm out the first round," Pimra said.

"Anything else on points, Lena?" Ambrose asked.

"No, not really, just keep plugging away, we're doing great," Helena said. "Although I do have something else. I had a ghost come to me tonight asking if he could attend tonight. Janus Craw."

"Really?" Ambrose said with surprise. "I bet it has to do with us trying to get him to become the house ghost last year."

"I'm pretty sure it is," Helena agreed. "Should I call him? He's probably hanging out somewhere close by."

"Ya. He might even be hangin' out behind you," Lucky said, and Helena turned around in surprise to see where Janus had faded in to view.

"Oh, well, there's that," Helena said with a shrug.

"Good evening," Janus said. "Nice familiar, Ambrose."

"Thanks," Ambrose grinned, while Archimedes seemed to preen his carved feathers.

"I was wondering if the position of House Ghost has yet been filled for this house?" Janus asked.

"No, we've been waiting for you to cave," Ambrose said with a grin.

"That and we haven't had much time to look for anyone else lately," Lucky said. Ambrose kicked her under the table.

"Yes, well, I have been impressed with your efforts, especially yours, Mr. Bailey, to correct much of the history of the Sentinels, so I will make a deal with you. I will become your…organization's…ghost representative, if you will take into consideration adding another member."

"We're always open for new members, Mr. Craw," Lindsay said sincerely.

"I am under the impression that there might be some reluctance to allow my friend in," Janus said, glancing at Lucky who squinted at him suspiciously.

"Well, who is it?" Ambrose asked.

"I would like to nominate Mr. Chance for consideration." Six of the students at the table reacted with enthusiasm. Lucky shook her head. "I truly believe he could use your help right now, more than you know. We could use your help," he said quietly. Pimra and Connie glanced at each other.

"Why don't you want Dale in, Lucky?" Pimra asked.

"He's not a deviant," Lucky said flatly.

"Did you hear his real name?" Lindsay suggested.

"That's not enough! He's still Ravenclaw, through and through."

"You so sure about that, Lucky?" Ambrose said, sounding unusually serious.

"Sure I'm sure! He's mister popularity, everyone knows it," Lucky said.

"Then how come he's not in his house rooms with the rest of the Ravenclaws?" Ambrose asked. "How come he's sitting outside the office door looking at it as if it were a brick wall?" Lucky gazed at Ambrose unsurely, and everyone grew quiet even if they hadn't realized the significance of the remark.

"He is out there, Miss Snape," Boulderdash suddenly put in. He had been reading so quietly at one of the desks in the back that they had almost forgotten he was there. "In fact, I believe he's the only person out there at the moment."

"We're not here to leave people out, Lucky," Ambrose said.

"I agree," Lindsay said. "I think it's time we let him in."

"I agree too, but it has to be unanimous, that's the rules," Laura said. It grew quiet again.

"Lena?" Connie said quietly, and Helena looked over thoughtfully. "Thanks, by the way." Helena grinned at her.

"I'm glad they talked me into it," Helena agreed, and then looked over at Lucky.

"At least if you're going to say no, Lucky, you should go out there and tell him," Ambrose said.

"And she should have to be the one to find us another house ghost," Pimra suggested.

"He's really helped us out, you know, with the abacus and all," Helena put in.

"Not to mention sticking up for us that day with the Coventry twins," Ambrose added. Lucky sighed loudly.

"Fine, fine! I'll do it, but only to get another guy in the house," Lucky said, the rest of the girls breaking out in a cheer.

"So go get him then," Ambrose suggested. Lucky looked at him darkly, but no one else seemed to make a move to join her. Janus simply smiled, gesturing towards the door.

"Fine," Lucky said with a glower, storming out the door and popping it open. Sure enough, there sat Dale with a book in his hand smiling at her curiously. "What are you doing here, Dale?" she asked flatly.

"Reading," Dale said, studying her dubious gaze. "What else would you do in a library?"

"Guess you're about to find out," Lucky said in annoyance, leaning against the door with her arms folded across her chest. Dale looked at her unsurely. "Well, you want in or not?"

"I'm in," Dale said quickly and grabbed his book, hurrying past her as if half afraid she'd change her mind. He stared at the empty office in confusion until she entered the second door and he stepped in to a round of applause and the proud smile of Janus standing in the background.

"Welcome to the Fifth House!" Ambrose said cheerfully.

"Finally," Laura said, and Lindsay grinned at her.

"Yeah, yeah, don't rub it in," Lucky said with irritation.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it, because I could really use your help," he said, glancing at Connie and Pimra before suddenly noticing Boulderdash sitting in the back.

"What's up?" Ambrose asked curiously.

"Um…could we…talk?" Dale asked, glancing at Boulderdash warily.

"Anything that can be said in front of the entire house can be said in front of its advisor, son," Boulderdash said evenly, turning the page with no intention of moving.

"It's all right, Dale, he's harmless," Ambrose said, waving it off.

"There's no such thing as a harmless Goblin, Ambrose," Dale said.

"Or wizard, for that matter," Boulderdash added unconcernedly, not looking up from his book. Dale gazed over at Janus.

"You might as well be out with it. It would have come out sooner or later and this at least is a friendly audience," Janus said. Dale sighed and nodded, putting down his book bag and took out his wand and a tiny rectangle, maximizing it back to its original size so they could see an ornate empty frame. Setting it down for a moment, Dale then took out a large scroll case and then gently, carefully, slid out the painting hidden inside and rolled it out for everyone to see.

"Hiya guys!" said one of the students in the painting.

"Corey!" called out Pimra and Connie with relief and delight.

"Corey?" Lucky and Ambrose said more unsurely.

"Hey, what about us?" the painting of Doug protested.

"Don't we at least get an honorable mention?" the portrait of Icarus asked critically, while the image of Janus patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Never mind it was our reunion it was trying to capture, it is always the boy who gets all of the attention."

"We're glad to see all of you," Pimra reassured him.

"We were afraid the Headmaster had put it in the confinement room," Connie said.

"He threatened to. That's when the painting decided maybe it would be better get out of the castle for awhile," Dale explained.

"Wait, wait, wait. Would someone explain to me what the hell is going on?" Lucky said with confusion.

"I have a feeling that's going to take awhile," Connie said with a sigh.

"Don't worry, I can write passes," Boulderdash said unconcernedly, turning another page. "Hot chocolate, anyone?" he added, nodding to the tray on the table. Sure enough, when they reached for the pot it was steaming and several of them took a moment to get mugs while Dale carefully put the painting back in its frame and hung it up on a hook in the room.

"So what I want to know is," Ambrose began once everyone seemed to be settled again, "Does this have something to do with that painting of Professor Dusthorn?"

"It has everything to do her," Dale agreed. "See, Constance, Pimra, and I have been helping Professor Dusthorn with an independent investigation on what's been happening to the paintings."

"Why would you need to? The Headmaster is already looking into it. And isn't that why Mr. Pyther was here in the first place?" Lindsay said.

"Yes, but there's a lot of other things going on that's distracting them, they have other priorities," Connie said.

"Daily operations, fixing the potion lab, that insanity with the board…" Dale offered.

"Pyther hasn't had any other priorities though," Helena said.

"Yeah he has," Ambrose and Lucky said almost at once. Dale simply nodded.

"Paintings here tend to know what's going on in the castle, and from what I understand, they've had reason to be concerned. I mean, if you were a sentient painting and you have your friends disappear around you and not know if you were next or not, how would you feel?"

"But it's just paint!" Laura protested. Dale nodded to her understandingly.

"Yeah, I felt that way too. But I think when you meet Caprica Dusthorn you'll start to change your mind, Laura. Unfortunately, with her being secretary right now it's been hard for her to meet with us, which is where these guys have been filling in."

"Wait, isn't that Dusthorn in this painting too?" Ambrose said, looking at the two paintings in the background.

"They're not as detailed, so they can't do as much," Connie explained. "But that little Dusthorn can call the other one in an emergency."

"There used to be another painting we could use for contact as well, but it was put into the confinement room," Dale said. "This is pretty much the only direct contact we had left for the investigation. Look, it's not our lives on the line, it's theirs…or sentience…or existence, or whatever it is you want to call it. They asked for help, and I think it's our duty to help them if we can. This castle wouldn't be the same without them…can you imagine traveling up those stairs and only seeing blank walls or some dusty old tapestries or something?"

"I miss the Fat Lady," Connie murmured.

"Yeah me too," Lucky admitted with a shrug. "Shouldn't we tell the Headmaster about all this?"

"No!" Connie, Pimra and Dale all protested at once. Boulderdash rolled his eyes but went back to his book.

"Dusthorn made us promise not to go to him unless we had something concrete," Dale explained. "And we think we're onto something, but we need to have contact with this painting to follow up on it so…I need help hiding it so it doesn't get taken away."

"Why don't we just leave it in here? The Headmaster hardly has any reason to come back here," Pimra said.

"Don't forget, he came awful close that one day," Lucky said.

"You could put it along the back wall when you don't need it," Boulderdash suddenly spoke up, some of them turning in surprise after forgetting he was there.

"So we can keep it here, then?" Connie said.

"I don't really think I need repeat myself, Miss Weasley," Boulderdash said calmly. "But I reserve the right to inform the Headmaster if the painting clouds over."

"If that painting clouds over, he'd definitely need to know," Dale agreed solemnly.

"Okay, so now that that's settled, how can we help with the investigation itself, Dale?" Ambrose asked. Dale glanced over and Connie and Pimra.

"Pimra and I have been trying to compile a list of paintings that'd been infected, the order, and everything we know about them," Connie said. "At first, it almost seemed like the older paintings were more vulnerable, but then we got to thinking it wasn't exactly the age that was making them so vulnerable, that maybe it had to do with how many times they'd been repaired or something. I mean, any time you repair something, it's more prone to damage later, but that's when Pimra came up with another idea along those lines…"

"It was Ambrose's paper that really got me thinking about it," Pimra admitted, Ambrose looking surprised. "It's about Mr. Pyther. He's been a resident of Hogsmeade for at least five of his centuries and during that time was known to not only to do many of the portraits but also maintain them. The older the painting, the more likely he's cleaned it or repaired it and all of that, so we're wondering if there's a more personal connection between what's happening and him."

"I don't get it," Lucky said.

"They didn't get sick out of the blue, Lucky, something triggered it, and a reason behind which paintings got it first," Dale said. "You of all people know there's no such thing as true random. We know it's not the age. We know it's not where they were in the castle at the time they got infected. There's got to be another connection, and so far the only other one we know of is that Pyther has repaired each one of them at one time or another. We have other paintings here that have confirmed that."

"If there is a connection, I don't think he knows it," Ambrose put in.

"I can't guess if he does or doesn't, but right now all we got is a theory, and especially now that he's teaching here, we need more than a theory. The best way to test it then is to find a painting or two that Mr. Pyther hasn't touched and see if they're susceptible to the dust."

"What? You mean infect them on purpose?" Ambrose said.

"Long as they're scenery or something and we're not putting a Sentient Painting in jeopardy, yes," Dale nodded. "If that's what it takes to find out the truth."

"I don't think the Headmaster would like that," Ambrose said.

"Then I think you're starting to get the picture why it has to be us," Dale said with a grim smile.


	37. In Pyther's Defense

_A/N Second chapter for the day, so don't miss chapter thirty-six! JCWriter. _

Thirty-Seven

In Pyther's Defense

Many students at Hogwarts let out grunts and groans of protest and pain the next morning when the sound of Caretaker Carnegie's trumpet rudely and insistently awakened them. Lucky, who was normally a heavy enough sleeper to doze right through it, was not able to sleep through a panicked rabbit landing on her head, one of his feet landing in her mouth in the process. By the time she had completely woken and had sat up, the rabbit was nowhere to be seen.

"My one and only goal in life is to find a hex that will put that trumpet out of its misery," Connie declared as they got ready for class.

"I knew I forgot something. I was gonna bring a tube of super glue to school to glue the valves shut," Lucky muttered. The two of them tried to ignore the sniffing nose of the door; despite the fact it seemed even more intent than usually to get a good whiff of every one that passed by it.

"We really do need to get those paintings fixed," Connie said in a low voice.

"Ya, but who are we to try an' fix them, that's what I wanna know," Lucky murmured back before stepping off at the second floor. She had decided to skip breakfast since she had potions first, so opted for the coffee and pastry option instead. Lucky looked thoughtfully at the folder on her desk with her name on it, opening it to find that despite its slender appearance it had several more pages with pockets inside, rather like a binder, and some of her notes from last semester seemed to have been copied and were in there as well.

"Hiya, Lucky!" Ambrose said cheerfully as he came in from breakfast, sitting down beside her. "Great to be back, isn't it?"

"Maybe, and maybe not," Lucky said, still suspicious of the folder on her desk, since most the notes in it were lists of all the horrendous memorization they had to do of herbs and potencies, and only the first few days of their notes on alchemist notation were in there.

"Good morning, everyone," Jennifer said as she came in the classroom with a bright smile. "I trust you had a decent holiday! I'm sure most of you have already heard that there has been some curriculum changes over the break? Well, each professor gets to decide how to handle that, but rest assured, you no longer have to bring your books to any of my classes," she said, pausing tolerantly for the burst of enthusiasm from the majority of students there. "Today, we're going to be reviewing a lot of the ways of testing potion ingredients by sight, smell and feel like we did last year, so everyone get out your kits. After that, we're going straight into learning how to make basic testing potions to take it one step further. I've included all the potency lists we did last semester…you know, the ones you were supposed to memorize…" she said mischievously.

"We'll be using them as reference, and I think as we go through them you'll start to understand what they mean and why they're important. You'll also find some worksheets I've put in for alchemists notation. Those are extra work, you don't have to do them; and although you won't get points for them, there's going to be a bonus question on them on your tests. Of course, I advise you to go ahead and try to do them, especially if you are already considering any fields involving alchemy or mathematical formulas." Lucky squinted, a bit suspicious that 'mathematical formulas' had been directed at her. "All right, everyone, folders down, kits on the desks. Did everyone get fresh mistletoe this year?"

After that, it was nothing but hands-on training the rest of the day, and not just in Potions. In fact, every major class seemed to have something else in mind rather than cracking open any sort of book. Professor Andrew was busy teaching them magic recycling; Professor Sprout had them elbows deep in muck learning about soil preparation while she lectured on seeding magic perennials. And Professor Tonks took all her classes to the indoor gym for what turned out being nothing short of a class on basic sparring with some of the charms they had learned earlier in the semester, but putting the emphasis on hand movements and dictation rather than full body movements as the club normally did. Even Professor Scribe announced that their classes would comprise of guests speakers the rest of the year; the homework's emphasis back on research and composition papers as they had been in years past, often asking what they felt an event's significance was and why. Only the fifth and seventh years seemed to have any sort of formal homework that semester; most of them working out of study guide folders except for a couple of seventh year classes that were given new books free of charge. Even they seemed very content with their new class agenda, and at dinner everyone was eager to hear from each other what professors they hadn't had yet were doing to finish out the term.

"From what I'm hearing, it sounds like what they're all planning to teach isn't that different than what they taught last year," Tim said after thoughtfully listening to the other Gryffindors for awhile. "They're simply being a bit more inventive of how they're teaching it so they can avoid using any more books than they have to."

"Wait until our aunt finds out about that," Reggie smirked. "Professor Weasley has never taught anything not in the book before."

"Then perhaps it'll be good for her," Connie said.

"Nah, we'll probably go to books when she gets back," Reggie said with a chuckle, shaking his head. "So what do you suppose our Defense class is going to teach?"

"From what I've heard of Pyther, prolly how to run in ten different speeds," Lucky said. Reggie and Tim both chuckled.

"Oh, come on, Lucky, he can't be as bad as all of that or the Headmaster wouldn't have hired him," Connie said. "Besides, I think it'll be rather interesting having a vampire teacher."

"Sure, long as he doesn't get hungry," Reggie snorted.

"I don't think the Headmaster would have hired him if he thought he'd turn us into lunch, either," Kay said. "All the same, it'll be interesting to hear about it, won't it?"

"Yeah," Reggie said thoughtfully, and then brightened. "Anybody wanna take a pool on who the first victim is going to be?"

If Tim had allowed Reggie to conduct that pool, Francis Pyther might have been one of the first to throw in a coin; knowing without a doubt that the first victim was bound to be Francis himself. Sure enough, it came in his very first class, first year Ravenclaw-Slytherin. Murmuring and sniggering could be heard from his office as they came in and took their places, and when he walked to the classroom door he began to smell a distinct odor that could only be one thing.

It didn't take long to spot the culprits; a pair of young brothers on the Slytherin side sitting with their hands neatly folded on their desks with heavily strung garlands of garlic around their necks. He even knew their last name before he even checked the chart, but did so for good measure anyhow.

"Rather interesting necklaces you have, Mr. Coventry and Mr. Coventry…a bit unoriginal perhaps," Pyther said calmly. "Or perhaps you're afraid of a mosquito invasion?"

"Professor Tonks says we should try to prepare for any situation," Don said.

"True enough, but I'm afraid it's too early in the year for mosquitoes. That's how that whole myth got started, you see. Back in the dark ages before our societies were as hidden as they are now, there was a lot of suppositions made…perhaps to prevent all out panics. Rather like how many believed smelling flowers would help prevent the plague and such. Well, after it was discovered that garlic did an acceptable job of keeping mosquitoes away and they sucked blood for food, some person or another decided perhaps that maybe it would also work on the large variety too. As sure as ducks float, everyone was carrying it, wearing it, and eating it. Rather annoying really, but there you are. I suppose there's worse things to be compared to…not sure what at the moment…but either way, if it's malaria you fear or perhaps you're simply trying to keep the girls away, go right ahead and wear it. Something else, Mr. Coventry?"

"Don't vampires have heightened senses, including smell?" Don challenged him.

"Some do yes, after taking a fair amount of victims. Most vampires gain strength and prowess the more they hunt the unsuspecting. I have never hunted, Mr. Coventry, and short of fairly keen eyesight in the dark, I'd say my other senses are no better than an average human. So um, any other questions or myths that need to be debunked before I start?" Helena and Pimra grinned at each other, but nobody said anything.

The next evening, it was Connie and Lucky's turn to experience their new Defense teacher, making themselves comfortable next to each other near the back while discussing one of the rumors they had heard from the night before when he walked in with a smile, nodding in greeting and waiting for them to settle down on their own.

"My name is Mr. Pyther. I will not profess to be any sort of professor in this subject; so mister will more than suffice. I am a graduate of this school, an artist by trade, undead by circumstance, and a pacifist by choice, but I have several centuries experience in surviving, and hopefully it'll be some of that experience that you'll take away with you during the weeks I'll be filling in. I have been browsing through all the books on this subject, both this year and in years past, and to be perfectly honest, I don't much care for the tone of any of them. In all cases, albeit your last semester's books being the more extreme…I've found that they simply tell you the most effective way to deal with certain terrible situations, but never the most humane way," he said. Lucky and Connie exchanged glances. "And I haven't seen much emphasis on the fact that the best way to defend yourself against x curse or creature is not to get yourself in that position in the first place. If you don't go out looking for trouble, there's less likelihood you're going to find it. In the past, you've learned how to identify curses on Pandora's Box, how to cautiously open it, and what vicious spells you need to exterminate whatever's in it. It's time you learned how not to open the thing in the first place and how to walk away."

"That would be running speed one," Lucky murmured in Connie's ear.

"Did you say something, Miss Snape?" Pyther inquired, seeing her movement. Lucky nodded without missing a beat.

"I heard we're not having any more random fear tests, is that true?" Lucky asked.

"Well, not as long as I'm teaching this class, you're not, no," Francis said, a few sighs of relief audible in response. "I'm not about to subject all of you to something I myself wouldn't have fared well with at your age. In fact, I was nearly killed with a fear spell."

"But sir?" Connie asked, putting her hand up after the fact, but Francis simply nodded to her. "I thought one of the things that classified them as a fear spell was that they didn't cause any direct harm, otherwise they'd be something else…"

"Then I would have to disagree. Fear can be very deadly…yes, well, I suppose that goes without saying, since that's how I ended up this way," he said, pointing at his fangs. "And probably why this school has long taught students and defend against them and help desensitize you against them, and no doubt that works, but…fear isn't something that should always be suppressed…it can sometimes save your life just as surely as it can take it. It's an instinct put in place in mankind to insure its survival; to remind you that you're mortal, to remind you what the stakes are, to keep you from getting overconfident and to remind you that you do have limitations. Bravado can kill you just as quickly as fear can. You're better off if you learn to live with your fears rather than to try and bury them. Especially since when you try and bury them, it simply makes it more likely they'll come out in full force at the worst possible time…at least, that's always been my experience," Francis said. Lucky frowned and looked at the folder in front of her distractedly.

"So, in short, the answer is 'No,' we won't be doing them," Francis continued. "Although I'm sure we'll talk a lot about how fear can be useful as well as harmful during our time together. But for right now, why don't you open those folders on your desks and look over the fear curses we need to cover over the next couple of weeks. After that, I'm going to hand you some worksheets a few essay questions from your previous tests from the start of the term. Your job will be researching each one and finding alternate…and less lethal…ways of defending yourself in each situation. Hopefully it'll help inspire you when we start getting into avoiding bad situations after your test on countercurses."

As concerned as the rest had the staff had been about Francis filling in at Defense, by the end of the week they had begun to become convinced that perhaps the Headmaster wasn't quite so mad to put him in the position after all. Of course, Jennifer had known before that Francis was a good teacher, and his uncanny ability to relate to his students had quickly won them over to his style and way of doing things.

Even Tonks, who had been less than enthusiastic about the idea of the course taking on a pacifistic approach, was forced to admit that the students were responding quite favorably and had more enthusiasm about the course; although she half suspected that part of that was the lack of having to constantly be on their toes in case the next fear spell drill erupted. Perhaps in some small way that was what inspired Tonks to seek Francis out on Thursday night, although she never would have dreamed that her simple suggestion would go so far to shake up what had been an otherwise perfect first week for the new instructor. For Tonks had run into an old friend in the Charms classroom closet when she was cleaning up for the evening, and knew for a fact that Francis had third year classes his first two periods that next night. Fortunately, Severus got wind of what was going on the next day when he had gone to check on progress in the dungeons and happened to notice the closet sitting in the Defense room.

"Heya girls. Homework done?" Dale asked when he caught up with Laura and Lindsay in the hall.

"Easily," Lindsay agreed, grinning at Laura. "I had werewolves and zombies. You?"

"Golems and vampires, although for the life of me I can't think of why anyone would want to save a golem, they're just animated, really," Dale said.

"Well, technically so are vampires, but I dare you to argue the point to Mr. Pyther," Laura put in. "Personally, I really like his approach on things, quite refreshing."

"Actually, it reminds me of your father's, Laura. Prevention versus what to do after it hits the fan," Dale chuckled.

"Considering their position, can you blame them?" Laura asked as the three of them walked in. Bobby March, already at his spot, stared at Dale openly as the three walked over and took their seats.

"Finally noticing there are other fish in the sea?" Bobby challenged Dale, who was waiting for Lindsay to sit down before taking his own seat

"We're all just friends," Laura said as she took her own seat beside Bobby.

"There's no such thing as 'just friends,'" Bobby said defensively. "They wait until you actually believe you're 'just friends' and then they latch on to you!" he said, demonstrating by grabbing Dale from the back and shaking him.

"Hey, cut it out!" Dale chuckled, swatting at him.

"So what's with the extra closet anyhow?" Lindsay said, pretending to ignore the exchange completely.

"I don't know, but I saw it shake and rattle a few times, so I'm guessing a demonstration," Bobby said.

"Already?" Lindsay said with a frown, wishing she didn't always get stuck in the front row.

"Probably just a boggart," Dale said with a shrug. Lindsay suddenly paled even further.

"Laura, can we change seats?" she asked quietly.

"Absolutely," Laura said and got up.

"Don't you think Mr. Pyther's going to notice?" Bobby asked, while Dale was busy trying to figure out what was wrong.

"I don't care. I'm not going anywhere near that thing," Lindsay said firmly.

"Good evening, everyone!" Francis said with a smile as he came in from his office. "I hope everyone gave their best efforts on their first assignments. Did anyone have any problem finding a non-lethal solution to his or her problem? Bobby?"

"No, not exactly, but I did want to know why anyone would want a non-lethal solution to a bog wight. They're not sentient, let alone alive. Wouldn't it be better to put it out its misery?" Bobby asked.

"This wasn't a philosophical assignment, Mr. March, it's to show you that there are a variety of other methods open to you," Francis said calmly, taking his assignment. "Not in the least of which being simply to choose not to walk alone in a bog at night to begin with. Thank you, Lindsay," he said, taking Laura and Dale's papers without mentioning the switch and moving to the next two rows. Lindsay relaxed a little.

"We're going to have a bit of a demonstration today on a creature easy to subdue without killing it or harming it other than getting it to move along from its hiding spot…a boggart. Some of you may have encountered them already," he said with a smile as some of the students looked wary than the others, but no one more than Lindsay. "This particular one has been in this castle well over sixty years, and I'm told survived quite a number of these demonstrations when he finds somewhere particularly annoying to haunt, but rather like a particular poltergeist I could name is an accepted presence in this castle. Boggarts are often categorized as a vampiric creature since they feed off of fear, although personally I've never liked the whole energy vampire concept any more than I like getting compared to a mosquito…but I suppose that's neither here nor there. Does anyone know the best way to subdue a boggart? Yes, Laura?"

"Laughter, classically speaking the riddikulus spell," Laura said calmly.

"Very good! Do you know it already?" Francis asked, and Laura nodded. "Care to give it a shot, then?"

Laura nodded and got up, walking over to the closet doors. With a flick of the wand, Francis unlatched the door and opened them, listening to everyone gasp as they saw the huge snarling werewolf standing inside looking as if it were ready to snap Laura's head off.

_"Riddikulus!"_ Laura cast firmly, and the werewolf suddenly appeared in a full-length flannel gown and lace night bonnet, resembling the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood. Laughs and sniggers went out in response, and Francis snapped the doors back shut with a chuckle of his own.

"Very well done, Miss Lupin, ten points for Ravenclaw!" Francis said with appreciation as Laura took her seat. "That could not have gone better, and the thing about it that mattered the most is the fact that she knew exactly what to expect. She knew what fear the Boggart was going to bring out, and planned in advance how to tackle it. This is what I mean when I say learning to live with your fears is more effective than suppressing them. Knowing what they are and understanding why they're there are the first steps in dealing with them. That said, some of you will more likely meet some unpleasant surprises on the other side of that door if you don't know yourself so well. If you're not certain what you'll see, I want you to simply concentrate on what makes you laugh. If you know what it's going to be, concentrating on making it look…well…ridiculous," he said mischievously. "So everyone get up and line up in front of the closet and we'll all have a go at it," Francis said, but as they all got up, he noticed that one student wasn't moving. "Come along, Lindsay, it'll be all right."

"I'd rather not," Lindsay said, shaking her head.

"I wouldn't have brought Humphrey in here if I didn't think he was something everyone here couldn't handle," he said coaxingly, but she shook her head again.

"Very well, Miss Black," Francis said at last with a nod. "I suggest you stay out of its sights and watch from a distance then."

"You're going to let her get away with that?" Cheryl asked. Laura gave her a dirty look.

"Miss Kingsley, one of the things I want to emphasize while I'm teaching this class is knowing your limitations. If Miss Black feels for whatever reason she can't handle this exercise, I'm not going to force her into it," Francis said. Across the room, Lindsay relaxed slightly. "Now, why don't you go first, Cheryl?" Half tempted to put up a fuss so she could sit down too, Cheryl sighed and stepped up in front of the cabinet.

As Pyther released the door, a giant black snake came barreling out and her, and for a moment she paled and stared at it a moment, only half aware of Pyther's coaxing before she finally cast, the snake suddenly tying itself up in knots. Everyone burst out laughing and Cheryl backed off with relief, grinning smugly. Dale was next, and he shuffled up with a suspicion of what it was going to be at the Boggart zeroed in on him. Sure enough, he found himself standing in front of a man wearing a strange hockey mask and carrying a machete.

"_Riddikulus!_" he cast quickly, and the figure was suddenly wearing a pink ballet outfit and carrying a large lollipop instead of a knife.

"You're afraid of a hockey player?" Bobby asked critically when the laughter died down.

"Never let a seven-year old stay up all night watching horror flicks," Dale advised his friend, who shrugged in confusion.

"Come, Mr. March, you're up," Francis told him, and Bobby came over, wand ready but completely clueless to what was going to come out.

So he couldn't be more surprised with a creature that he knew couldn't possibly exist came whiffling and burbling towards him with massive claws and giant teeth in a frothing maul looking every bit as real as his father once described the creature that ate rotten little magic born for dinner. Bobby backed up quite abruptly as the Jabberwocky took a step forward, the students behind him protesting loudly as he pushed back into them.

"It's all right, Mr. March! Think of something positive! Clowns or pixies or butterflies or anything!" Francis advised him, and Bobby nodded and pointed his wand at it and tried to cast. But as the monster gnashes his jaws and snapped at him, Bobby found he couldn't speak the words. "Hang on! I think you need a breather…" Francis said and stepped up in front of him with his wand out.

Francis had expected to see Rafe in one of his foulest moods. He had even worked out a very lovely counter in his mind to counter it. He would have looked very entertaining in a bunny suit. But to his complete surprise and utmost terror, the Boggart suddenly changed from the briefest image of Rafe to that of someone else completely.

It was Alicia, only never as he had seen her before with a face pale, grey, dead. Thin black strands replaced her golden hair, and the green eyes replaced with flaming red eyes filled with hate and a hunger for death. She was furiously angry, angry perhaps that he had made her that way, baring her fangs at him in a soulless rage.

Letting out a blood-curdling shriek that made all the students jump away from him in fear, Pyther suddenly lost consciousness and crumpled to the floor. A panic quickly ensued, the Boggart quickly taking advantage of the situation by scaring every student nearby, changing forms so fast that by the time one recovered to try and stop him he had moved on to the next.

"Laura, do something!" Lindsay screamed, and Laura jumped out in front trying to get its attention, while Dale came around the other side, shouting at it as well.

But the Boggart wasn't interested in unfrightened students when there were so many easier targets in the room, and as soon it spotted Lindsay cowering in the corner, the Boggart suddenly growing immense in size as it turned into a huge dragon and headed straight towards her. Lindsay dropped her wand in terror and curled into a ball, covering her head with her hands and preparing for flames to burst out around her. The memories of that night her parents died pushed to the forefront of her mind despite her best attempts to stop them and began wishing everything around her would just go away. But a mere second later, in what seemed interminably long to Lindsay herself, she noticed that the room had gotten quiet and shakily peeked around to see the back of some black brocade robes.

The rest of the class looked on in bewilderment as Headmaster Snape faced off with a mirror image of himself. The class was so stunned by the boggart's chosen form that they quieted down and watched with anticipation, momentarily wondering which was which. But Severus simply sighed and grabbed Humphrey by the collar, pulling him over to the closet.

"In," Severus said, tossing the hapless boggart in the closet and latching the door. He paused and gazed at Lindsay searchingly for a moment, but Laura had already reached her side and was helping her to her feet. "Everyone to your seats, please," he said, tapping Dale on his shoulder from where he knelt beside Francis. Obediently Dale got up and Severus took his place, taking out a small phial and waving it under the vampire's nose.

Francis suddenly blinked, gazing in confusion at Severus.

"What happened?" Francis asked hazily.

"You opened Pandora's Box, Mr. Pyther," Severus said dryly and then got up, pulling Francis up with him. At the sight of his class, what had happened came flooding back in, and he found himself wondering how long Severus had been there. "Why don't you go sit over there and recover and I'll finish this lesson?" he said, and despite his suggestive tone, Pyther knew it was anything but a suggestion as he found himself heading back to his desk well out of view of the closet doors. "Miss Black, would you go sit by Mr. Pyther, please? Now, who here has successfully finished this exercise? Sit over there…everyone else, line up in front of me. Whose turn was it when things got out of hand?" he asked. Sheepishly, Bobby stepped up, eyeing the door warily. "What did it come out as, Mr. March?"

"A Jabberwocky, sir," Bobby said.

"Hm. Well there are worse things to be afraid of than creatures that don't exist, I suppose. I assume you have some idea now how to negate it?" Severus asked. Bobby nodded. "Fine, then we'll begin again. If you anyone sees something unexpected, allow yourself time to identify it before proceeding; it won't attack you except for taking a form it thinks will scare you. Keep your wand ready, but hold up your left hand if you need a pause. Let's begin again, shall we?"

Bobby was more than ready to get it over with when the door was unlatched again; the frightening form taking shape again only to be immediately to have its jaws trapped in a muzzle and its claws covered pink wool mittens knitted on the ends of a red scarf that wrapped around the creatures neck tight enough that it almost looked like a giraffe with a cold. A chuckle broke out from around him, and Severus called the next, getting a more enthusiastic response from the student who put a gas mask on a Dementor.

At first many of the responses were timid, still nervous as they were from what happened earlier, but as more got through them confidence began to build again. Once Severus had to step in a moment for someone to regain their composure after seeing their big brother standing there, but there was something very funny about just seeing two Headmasters standing in the room that made it easy to remember it was a boggart and not what they were thinking it was. The line had to pause only once more for Tuck Porter, who had the misfortune for none other than Francis Pyther to form in front of him. The class broke out in laughter even before Tuck had a chance to cast any spell at all, his face growing redder by the second. But for good measure, Severus murmured the spell under his breath and the boggart suddenly went into a swan dive to the floor. The class was roaring so loudly and so close to tears after that that Humphrey decided to slink back into the closet to hide. Sitting in the back of the class, Francis Pyther was very much wishing he could do the same thing.

"I suppose he's had enough for now, best get back into your seats," Severus suggested before walking over to where Francis and Lindsay were sitting. "Come, Miss Black, you and I are going to have a talk. I don't suppose this is the only demonstration you had planned tonight, Mr. Pyther?"

"Um, well, I was going to go over boggarts with my class next period too, but under the circumstances…"

"Fine," Severus said, cutting him off abruptly. "I'll be back in half an hour or so to do that demonstration for you as well just…don't try anything until I get back," he advised, a padlock appearing on the door of the closet as he lead Lindsay out.

Francis sighed, looking at the rest of his lesson plan and wondering how he was going to get through it, and found himself merely assigning them their homework and letting them work on it for the rest of the class instead. How could he have let things so out of control? Fainting in the middle of class like that…and in the process doing everything he was trying to teach them not to do. By the time Severus got back, Francis was more then ready to get the whole night over with and gladly handed his Gryffindor-Slytherin class back to Severus…although he was more than a little surprised to see that Lindsay had come with him and Severus asked her to demonstrate to the class on how it was done. There was a strange look on the girl's face when Severus led her to the closet; haunted, but determined. Severus patiently waited for her to decide when she was ready and opened up the closet, the rest of the class reacting as a large dragon tried to make its way out of the closet.

_"Riddikulus!" _Lindsay intoned, flicking her wand at the dragon, which suddenly turned into a fat little canary with undersized wings. Chirping in surprise at the change, the canary fell to the floor with a squeak. A burst of laughter rang out from the other students, while Lindsay smiled in obvious relief.

"Well done, Miss Black, ten points for Hufflepuff…and you have homework to pick up, I believe," Severus told her with a nod, apparently losing all interest in her as he began lining up the class itself. Pyther smiled at her warmly and handed her over her notebook and homework, curious to what Severus might have said to get her to step up like that.

After Severus went through the exercise with the rest of the third years without incident, the Headmaster quickly nodded and excused himself from the classroom, heading back to his study as if nothing had happened. And when the class ended, Francis Pyther went into his office and stared at a letter waiting for him there. Recognizing the handwriting immediately, he returned it unopened.


	38. Advice From All Sides

Thirty-Eight

Advice From All Sides

By Saturday afternoon everyone was talking about Pyther's untimely fainting spell, and the Fifth House was no exception. Lucky shook her head as Laura recounted what had happened. Lindsay listened quietly, while Dale looked unusually thoughtful.

"It was so very strange," Laura murmured. "I mean, one moment he had everything under control, and the next he was on the floor and it was complete chaos. I'm not sure what Mr. Pyther was expecting the boggart to turn into, but it sure wasn't what he thought it was. It took him completely by surprise to see a girl vampire standing there."

"Yes, but who was it?" Helena asked.

"I was thinking maybe she was who turned him into a vampire or something," Dale said.

"No," Lindsay said. Everyone gazed at her curiously. "I know who it is, but the Headmaster asked me not to say anything."

"Is that what he wanted to talk to you about then, when he pulled you out of class?" Dale asked.

"No, he pulled me out of class to talk to me about my parents. My real parents, I mean," Lindsay said. Lucky suddenly looked up in surprise.

"No way, you were adopted too?" Lucky said. "I didn't know that!"

"I thought everyone knew that," Lindsay said. The Weasley girls and Ambrose nodded at Lindsay.

"Well I didn't," Dale put in. Lucky sighed. At least she wasn't the only outsider now.

"My real parents were the Thurspires," she explained, but then noticed Lucky and Dale were still looking at her questioningly. "My father was the Law Enforcement Minister before Thomas Craw. They were murdered by Ciardoth."

"I'm sorry, Lindsay," Dale said with a frown, but Lindsay shook her head with a smile.

"I was pretty young. I barely remember them just…impressions of them really…and nightmares of the fire, and of Ciardoth in dragon form," Lindsay explained.

"Ah, so that's why he intervened," Dale nodded.

"That and the fact our instructor was flat on the floor," Laura snorted.

"We didn't really talk about that night much. Mostly he talked about how much of an idiot he had thought my father was," Lindsay said. The rest of them stared at her in surprise.

"Well, that's awfully cold of him," Connie said with a frown. But Lindsay shook her head and smiled.

"It wasn't like that, exactly…my father once listened to someone he shouldn't have in the Ministry and it almost got Aunt Jennifer killed. Uncle Severus never forgave him for that. My father wasn't well liked by anyone, really. But Uncle Severus said that it hadn't been for my father, Ciardoth would have succeeded in destroying us all, and told me that he regretted never making amends with him when he had the chance. He said he had misjudged him and thought I was finally old enough to hear it. Somehow, it was easier to face the image of her after that," she said with a shrug and a slight smile. "It's not every day the Headmaster admits he made a mistake about anything."

"That's for sure," Ambrose said with a grin. "So what happened to your parents, Lucky?"

"How about we just call the meeting to order, chico," Lucky said flatly, trying to ignore the fact that everyone else was looking at her.

"Oh! All right," Ambrose said. "Lena, you're up, then."

"You'll all be happy to know we've had a brilliant first week back with an impressive thirty-five points; ten from Laura and ten from Lindsay from Mr. Pyther's class," she said, glancing at the two girls who grinned at each other. "Five from Dale for his creativity in Recycling, and ten from me for impressing Tonks with my illusion charm," she said smugly. "Everyone else, stop slacking, thank you."

"Hey!" Ambrose protested. "I should get some leeway for making a hundred points during the break." Helena studied him carefully for a moment, and then nodded.

"Very well, you're excused," she decided. "The rest of you aren't, though." Connie stuck her tongue out at her sister, while Lucky and Pimra just grimaced at her. "You know, if we can keep this pace up, we might even reach second by the end of the year, or even first."

"Aw com'on, there's no way the eight of us are possibly going to get first place," said Lucky.

"Well, maybe not before we had Dale," Helena said. "But don't forget, Ravenclaw is tied for first in Quidditch this year." Lindsay grimaced at the reminder, for Hufflepuff had yet to win a game.

"Hey, yeah, that's right! I forgot we picked up another Quidditch player," Ambrose said.

"Which brings me to my problem…that is, if Helena's done with her report," Laura said questioningly, and Helena nodded. "With us having classes after dinner now on weekdays, Quidditch practice restarting on random afternoons and Sunday mornings, and the tournament starting next Saturday, we're going to be hard pressed to work out any study times that all of us can be here at once."

"Yes, but does anyone really need any tutoring now that we're out of those awful books?" Connie asked.

"Ya," Lucky said ruefully, everyone looking at her curiously. "The Professor wasn't too happy about my Defense marks, even after the curve. He said if I'm not at least tied for first in my year by the end of term, he's going to cut off all off my Muggle devices this summer."

"Ouch, that includes the MP3 player too, doesn't it?" Dale asked. Lucky shrugged at him.

"I haven't gotten to use it yet anyhow," she admitted, Dale frowning in response. "We came here for Christmas since the Professor had to work."

"Oh. Well I guess that explains why you didn't get mad at me or start ignoring me again," Dale said and Lucky squinted, wondering exactly what he had put on it. "I'll tutor you in Defense, Lucky."

"I'd rather Laura do it. She's the top of your year, not you," Lucky said.

"And I'm in charge of tutoring anyhow," Laura agreed, glad to play interference.

"I could still use someone tutoring me in Potions," Connie put in.

"It's not all formulas anymore, that should be some relief at least," Laura said.

"I can help you with potencies and identification, Connie, I'm really good at that," Ambrose put in.

"All right, everyone hand over your schedules then, and I'll see what we can make of them," Laura sighed. "Maybe we can meet earlier on Saturdays?"

"Ambrose and I have choir," Dale pointed out. "How about we try lunches?"

"What? We'd have to skip lunch to make that work, and I don't think Boulderdash would let us have food in here," Helena protested.

"You could always ask." They all looked up to see Boulderdash standing in the doorway, seeming a bit out of place. They realized after a moment that it was because he was out of his Hogwarts robes and in normal goblin attire. "However, there are going to have to be some concessions made, no pun intended, if you're to bring or food or drink in here."

"Such as?" Laura asked. Boulderdash walked over to them, tapping a gnarly-nailed finger on the worktable they were sitting at.

"No books or periodicals on the table when there's a single food or drink item on it," he snarled threateningly. "If I see a single drop of liquid or a stain or even a minute crumb get on any one of my books, I guarantee you will be losing precious points, serving detention, and depending on the severity, trying to find another place to hold house meetings. Is that quite understood?" The students nodded vigorously. "Good. I may be a librarian, but I am still a goblin. You do not want to see me upset. Have a good evening, I have some errands to run," he added more pleasantly, but brandished a warning smile for good measure before he left the room.

"Maybe we should just skip lunch," Ambrose suggested, and some of the others seemed in favor of the idea.

"Well, right now we ought to consider making some sort of progress with the paintings since it's our last Saturday free and no goblin to get in the way…"

"He's never been in the way," Ambrose shrugged. "But how do you want to do this?"

"Simply enough, we spread out into groups and start questioning paintings," Dale explained. "They're not allowed to move from their frames right now, so we'll have to go to them. Every painting in here knows who Pyther is; he's a sort of representative that ghosts and paintings elected to go to the Ministry if they have any concerns and stuff. They're going to remember if he's ever repaired them, and if we're lucky, maybe one of them even knows of a scenery painting that hasn't been touched. That's our main goal, to find one of those so we don't have to put any sentient paintings in danger."

"I wonder," Ambrose said suddenly, Dale and the others looking over at him curiously. "Do you suppose he would have bothered with a simple sketch? I mean…really, from the looks of it, I don't think it's ever been cleaned even."

"Why don't you come with me then, Ambrose, so you can show me where that is. The rest of you pair off and we'll meet back here before dinner in case anyone found something we can use," Dale suggested, and they all got up.

Ambrose half wondered if he'd even remember where he had seen it, considering he had been blindly running through the back corridors that day. In fact it took several tries and lots of doubling back, but just as he was about ready to give up and tell Dale he couldn't find it again, he walked past the right corridor and stopped short, recognizing the lone, dusty frame and the dark brown paper even from a distance.

"This is the one," Ambrose said with a nod as he stared at the charcoal sketch of Stonehenge.

"It does look like it's been here awhile," Dale agreed thoughtfully. "The frame's rather beat up too. Doesn't seem to be signed."

"Not really Mr. Pyther's medium, though, is it?" Ambrose pointed out.

"Not his style, either. There's no movement at all…I'm not even sure it's magic in any way. Still, we have to find out if he's ever repaired it or anything. I doubt it's been cleaned recently," Dale mused.

"Maybe the painting I saw using it would know?" Ambrose said. Dale looked over at him in surprise.

"You saw a painting in the sketch? You mean a portrait? Who was it?" Dale asked curiously.

"I don't know, he didn't tell me his name. He was an older wizard with a long white beard…he looked a bit like Dumbledore only not so much hair and a bit thinner on the top," Ambrose explained.

"Did he have on blue silk robes and have eyes kinda like yours?" Dale asked, inhaling sharply.

"Yeah, how…" Ambrose turned around suddenly to see that the wizard was back in the frame again, smiling warmly at them. "That's him!"

"I don't know who else I would be but myself," the portrait agreed.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Merlin, sir," Dale said with a solemn nod. Ambrose blinked, glancing at Dale who was still staring at the portrait in amazement.

"Merlin!" Ambrose repeated with surprise and awe. Suddenly he chuckled. "Well, that explains the book, doesn't it?" he realized, getting a wink in response.

"Mr. Merlin, did you know that the Headmaster's been looking for you?" Dale asked.

"Merlin will do, Wilbert, and yes, I am aware of it, thank you. And how have you been, my boy, keeping out of trouble?" he asked, smiling at Ambrose.

"Mostly," Ambrose said with a grin.

"If that is so, then what are you doing back here?" the portrait asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"Helping the rest of the Fifth House track down paintings that Pyther might not have touched, because Professor Dusthorn…"

"Wait, wait, wait. Might we start over? I've been a bit out of touch trying to keep one step ahead of the Headmaster's long nose lately. Since when does Hogwarts have a fifth house?" Merlin asked.

"Oh, I started it…Lucky and I did anyhow. It's a house for social deviants," Ambrose explained.

"Really?" Merlin said with amusement. "Exactly how are you a deviant, son?"

"I'm eight!" Ambrose said with surprise. Merlin tilted his head back and forth as if mulling it over before finally nodding.

"I suppose being eight could be considered a deviancy in certain circles. And you, young man?"

"Oh, I uh…talk to paintings," Dale improvised.

"Obviously," Merlin agreed. "The Snape girl is in this too, you say?"

"Oh yes. She's a non-conformist," Ambrose explained.

"That goes along with the territory," Merlin agreed. "And this house of yours stands for what, exactly?"

"Well, I don't know. I guess we stand for each other, mostly. You know, for supporting each other and studying together and rooting for one another, all of that, and helping out friends in need," Ambrose explained.

"It sounds more like an order to me rather than an actual house," Merlin said. "But I think I understand now. And you say you've been doing some legwork for Professor Dusthorn?"

"Dusthorn and I have come to the conclusion that there's a connection between the paintings affected by this disease and Mr. Pyther," Dale explained.

"A very sound conclusion," Merlin agreed.

"We're looking for paintings he may not have touched so we can test the theory," Ambrose went on. Merlin furrowed his brows.

"I hope you weren't planning on using my sketch," Merlin frowned at Ambrose.

"It had occurred to us," Dale admitted.

"Wait a minute, you sketched this? Your real self, I mean?" Ambrose said with interest.

"My boy, when you've lived as long as I have, you tend to pick up some hobbies," Merlin explained.

"We would appreciate it if you let us borrow it," Dale said. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to go back to your original painting? It should be quite safe. We have it hidden."

"And in plain sight too," Merlin said dryly. "I cannot return to that painting right now, Wilbert, not without interfering in current events which I really don't have any business being a part of; and to be honest, it'd probably be disastrous if I tried. As for this painting, I dropped it off in this castle myself some years ago. And although it's true that Pyther hasn't ever touched it, it is a part of security and I put a bit of hibbilty-gibbilty of my own on it to make certain it was unaffected by what's going on out there."

"Then perhaps you might give us a hint to where we can find another painting that Pyther's hasn't touched?" Dale sighed. Merlin grew quiet, pulling on his beard thoughtfully for a moment.

"Well, I really shouldn't. I suppose one hint won't hurt too much, but then I really must stay out of this mess," Merlin protested. "And I'll only give it on the condition that you tell no one, not even that Fifth House order thing of yours, where I am. Otherwise, I'll be forced to move this painting, because I cannot afford to be found out about yet."

"We won't tell anyone, Merlin," Ambrose promised, while Dale seemed more hesitant. "Come on, Dale, surely we can trust him to do what's right," he coaxed, but Dale shook his head.

"No, Ambrose, I don't completely trust him…no offense, sir," Dale said apologetically, but Merlin was smiling at him, nodding.

"That's very wise of you, Wilbert," Merlin said approvingly.

"Well, I trust you," Ambrose said defiantly.

"That's very wise of you, Ambrose," Merlin agreed with a nod. The two boys looked at each other than back at the painting.

"Exactly how could we both be?" Dale asked, but Merlin simply smiled. "Fine, I promise, but I hope we're doing the right thing," Dale sighed. "So, where's a painting we can use?"

"You asked only for a hint, Wilbert," Merlin reminded him, "and it is simply this: A wise teacher allows their students to make their own mistakes. Have a good day, boys," he added, and then walked behind one of the monoliths before either of them could question him further.

"That wasn't all that much of a hint, was it?" Ambrose sighed, but Dale looked thoughtful. "What does that have to do with paintings?"

"A lot, really. Pyther has taught painting classes here in the past, like that one Corey was in," Dale said, gazing at the sketch as he thought about it. "He wouldn't have touched any of his student's paintings, and there are probably a lot of them that'd be too recent to need much cleaning or repairs."

"But most of the students would probably have taken their paintings home with them," Ambrose pointed out, but then stopped. "Wait a minute! The painting of Pyther himself! He couldn't have done it, and it looks like it was done by a student!"

"Caprica wanted me to stay away from sentient paintings, Ambrose," Dale pointed out. "And I'm not sure how I'd feel about risking that painting in any case. I doubt there's been many done of Pyther."

"I'm not sure that painting is sentient yet…"

"Ambrose, I had a hard enough time accepting any paintings were actually sentient. I don't think I'm ready to debate on if a particular one is actually sentient or not," Dale said bluntly. "Well, we can at least have a look. Maybe if nothing else we can find some clue to where other student paintings are. Let's go meet everyone at dinner and explain to them your idea about the student paintings then go from there."

"My idea?" Ambrose said in surprise.

"Well, it has to be one of our ideas, doesn't it?" Dale said with a grin, "and it'll sound better to Lucky if it comes from you."

"You got a point," Ambrose grinned, and the two of them went to find the others. But when Ambrose, Dale and Lucky wandered up to the potion room after dinner, they found it already occupied, quickly backing away from the door after they spotted Jennifer setting up her lab equipment. Quietly the three of them went back to the library to make plans to try again the next day.

Jennifer, for her part, had been quite grateful to get to the lab that night after the harrowing day she had spent attempting unsuccessfully to get Hermione's office in some sort of order. She had somehow managed to get an old book order paid through personal funds and find the newest estimates on the dungeon repairs (buried at the bottom of a tall stack of unpaid bills that threatened to topple at any moment) and had even pulled out the budget to try and figure out which bills were supposed to be paid by which account. But after she had added the bills to the ledger and totaling the payments five different times and coming up with five different numbers…none of them matching what it should have been at…Jennifer pushed it aside and grabbed a bag filled with Owl Post to try and sort what was in it into piles by priority.

It didn't help that quite a number of the notes were responding to the letter Severus had sent out about the auction, and not everyone had waited for any sort of suggestions as to what to donate; several piles of parcels had been pushed to the wall with only the briefest of curse checks. Some alumni, not wanting to deal with the auction at all, had just sent donations. Jennifer locked those up in a drawer without counting it, knowing it'd be pointless until she set up some sort of separate fund with the bank for the event…something she wasn't willing to do until she had balanced the books and sent that month's reports to the accountants office.

She paused long enough to glance at the Book, smiling at the name Richard Ector Weasley, which had appeared on the last line. Feeling a second wind at the reminder of why she was doing the job, Jennifer rolled up her sleeves and turned back around to deal with the rest.

Stuffing the letters of those who donated into a folder in the front of the cabinet so she would remember to send them thank you notes later, Jennifer then frowned at the piles of letters left; mostly parental concerns, complaints, requests to release students on an odd weekend, and belated permission slips for Anna's Muggle Studies trip to Edinburgh.

By the time she finished checking off permissions slips, the light outside was already beginning to dim, and she resigned herself to the fact that she was going to have to be there all day tomorrow to finish the work and called it a night. She stopped only long enough to drop off the dungeon estimates in the Headmaster's Study and raid the candy dish before retreating to the potion room, so intent on setting up the lab that she missed the students who had nearly walked in on her.

But it wasn't long after that Jennifer heard the hoot of an owl, and she went to the window for a small note that Dodger was holding, pausing to pet him fondly in thanks before opening it.

"It would be tonight!" Jennifer sighed with frustration after reading the note. "Some weekend this is going to end up! One moment, Dodger," Jennifer said, glancing at the clock on the wall before scribbling something on the bottom of the note and refolding it. "Can you go ahead and take that up to Severus?" Ruffling his feathers, Dodger accepted the note and took off again.

"Good evening, Jennifer," Francis said as he came in with a covered frame in hand, gazing at her thoughtfully from where she stood by the window. "Anything wrong?"

"No, not really, but I'm glad you're here early. Essie just headed off to the hospital and she's predicting a late night delivery. But with any luck, we can run these new numbers up to Severus before I need to head to the hospital," Jennifer explained.

"We should be able to. I have the new test painting right here," Pyther said, putting it on the easel and into the safe corner.

"I'm surprised you had time to finish it. I know how hard the first week can be," Jennifer said, hooking up the test box to the lab and testing for leaks.

"Not as hard as the Defense Room floor is," Francis said dryly. Jennifer smiled at him knowingly.

"You are not the first staff member who has had a bad encounter with Humphrey, Francis," Jennifer assured him, tightening one of the valves. "In fact, Severus had some rather nasty encounters with him just before we got married."

"And yet now the boggart shows him only his own image?" Francis asked curiously. Jennifer looked over at him with amusement.

"That's what it showed him then, too, Pyther. He just hadn't learned how to deal with it then," Jennifer explained with a soft smile. "Oh, there's been a specific situation or moment that's come up that he's seen something else, but Severus has feared himself more than anything as long as I've known him. He fears what he is capable of doing in the wrong situation, and what he might have become had things been different…and he's also always been afraid that'll he make a decision that puts one of us in danger."

"That makes sense," Pyther murmured as he pulled off the cloth covering the painting and folded it up thoughtfully. "That rather explains what I saw too in a way."

"I know, Pyther," Jennifer said with a nod and a smile. "But really, as long as you're afraid of it happening, I don't think you have anything to worry about. You wouldn't do anything to hurt her. I know that."

"Yes, well, with any luck she'll have sense enough to find someone better so I don't ever have to test it," Francis said, twisting the stopper and setting it inside.

"You mean she didn't tell you?" Jennifer said curiously, pausing to write down a few numbers before clearing the pipes. "About Jacob, I mean?"

"Why, did he propose?" Francis asked so sharply that Jennifer looked back up amusement. Belatedly he turned around, grabbing another test phial as an excuse to turn his back to her.

"According to Aurelius, she came back from Hawaii and told him point blank he was right and that Jacob wasn't Snape material," Jennifer said with amusement. She paused to take the next set of numbers, hearing a deep sigh behind her. "They're not seeing one another anymore at all. I would have thought she would have wrote you about it."

"I haven't been answering them," Francis admitted. Jennifer turned and stared at him. "I thought it would be better if…what with Jacob and all…if I didn't get in the way."

"Poor Jacob," Jennifer said, shaking her head as she reset the valves. "First Zoë tries to set him up with Alicia, and then you do the same, whether they really want it or not."

"That's hardly fair, Jennifer!" Francis snapped. "Zoë did it for completely selfish reasons!"

"And you didn't?" Jennifer asked him with a raised brow. Angrily he grabbed the last of the green test phials. "After all, you seem to be constantly trying to decide what's best for Alicia without even including her in the discussion, and now it seems it's to the point you won't even answer her post. She should have the right to make up her own mind about you, Pyther."

"And I should have the right to say no!" Francis retorted.

"Absolutely," Jennifer said with a nod, turning back to her equipment. "And I suggest if you're going to say so, you really ought to do it soon and stop running away from it. You're only making things worse letting things go on like this. Let's try one of Severus' phials this time."

Francis set up the next phial with a sigh, knowing she was right and wishing she wasn't. Perhaps he should really get it over with…and the sooner, the better. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he was surprised by her exclamation.

"What is it?" he asked.

"A significant drop in potency! I think some of Severus' spatial potion may have gotten through! Is the painting still hazy, Pyther?" Jennifer asked. Blinking a bit, Francis gazed over at the painting thoughtfully.

"No, not really, not now at any rate," he said.

"Hm, I thought it might linger more," Jennifer said, walking over to study it. "Well, let's go ahead and set up the timed phials and infect the painting for tomorrow, then I'll finish up these numbers. Hopefully everything will go all right and we'll have our delivery system. All we'll need then is a cure," Jennifer said dryly, putting on some gloves to handle the dust while Pyther carefully set the phials in the box.

Just then, Jennifer heard the soft hoot of an owl, and looked up to see a snowy white sitting in the windowsill, watching them.

"Why, I think that's Hedwig, Jamie's owl! I wonder if that means what I think it means," Jennifer said.

"Here, I'll get that, Jennifer, why don't you go see?" Pyther said, taking the phial of dust from her to finish the experiment while Jennifer hurried over to get the note.

"Jamie says Mary's finally gone into labor and that it's chaos down there trying to keep Draco and Harry from killing each other. She is hoping one of us will get down there…although I'm sure they'd prefer Severus. Either way, as soon as we're done here I think I'll go," Jennifer said. "Especially since I also know Essie and Juliet are both due any time as well, and Essie predicted a full hospital."

"I'm done here if you want to take note of the time," Pyther said, carefully stopping the phial and carefully wiping it down.

"Done," Jennifer said, putting it at the bottom of her figures before turning around with a sigh.

"Pyther, you forgot to put gloves on. You'd really better scrub up so we don't have any more outbreaks," Jennifer chided him, glancing over her numbers one last time. "I have to go turn these in. Want to come to the hospital with me?"

"A maternity ward is no place for a corpse," Francis protested, getting an amused grin in response.

"Well, I seriously doubt that anyone would mind, but it sounds like it's going to be crowded and I know you don't like crowds. All the same, you really ought to take the night off, Pyther. I know you've had a rough ending to your first week, and whatever you got left to mark can wait until tomorrow. I'll get John to handle security tonight, so if you want to get away for awhile feel free," Jennifer said, handing him the cover for the painting.

"Thank you. Perhaps I will," Francis said with a smile as he carefully covered it, a destination already in mind as Jennifer hurried off.

For Francis hadn't visited the Pigs Pannage since Brogan had reopened it after his cousin's death; and he hadn't had a cup of blood wine since that night at the Pale. He found his thoughts dwelling on that night as he grabbed his hooded cloak out of his room and flew out of the castle, landing a few streets away so he could use the walk to clear his head. What he hadn't expected was Alicia being there.

She had easily been able to slip Aurelius and the others at the mayhem at the hospital, knowing they'd be much too busy to follow her. She had stopped home only to grab her Chest Cloak before Apparating to the front of the pub.

Alicia stepped in and scanned the patrons cautiously before removing her hood and greeted Rinan Scur. He was sitting at his favorite seat at the bar, which had clear view of both the exits, and near his friend Brogan who was behind the bar. But she only paused a minute before moving to a row of dark mahogany booths, choosing the one with a recent photo of Rinan, Brogan, Stock, and her Grandfather outside the gold mine, mimicking a similar picture once taken of them but without the more disagreeable elements. Next to it was a recent mugshot of Earsinge; the goblin wearing an enigmatic, practically human smile on his face.

She had just gotten comfortable with her drink in hand when she saw a flash of gold light and looked down, holding up her heart necklace curiously just as the glow began to fade. It was then she heard the door creak open and looked up in time to see the sparkle of Francis' red eyes beneath his hood as he stepped inside.

Being one of the few unhooded figures in the pub and facing the front door as she had been, it had been impossible not to notice her. She sighed in irritation, folding her fingers around her glass and made a pointed attempt at ignoring him. She played with her drink distractedly as she waited for him to get settled somewhere, debating on whether on not she should make a quick exit. But why should she? She was here first, after all, and it wasn't her who had been turning back letters unopened. In fact, she half expected him to leave without a word after the way he had avoided her after he had kissed her…Alicia quickly attempted to pull herself together, taking an unusually large gulp of her drink and was glad she had when he came to stand beside her table.

"May I?" Francis asked quietly.

"It's your back," Alicia shrugged. Francis hesitated, wondering what she meant by that, but then noticed that Rinan and Brogan were squinting at him from where they were standing at the bar. Clearing his throat, Francis sat down, resisting the urge to turn back around. "Business partners of grandfathers," Alicia explained.

"One would have to be completely out of their mind to do anything to irritate your grandfather. He's the most dangerous wizard in the country," Francis said.

"Indisputably," Alicia agreed, making a gesture with her hand towards the bar to let them know that she was fine. Rinan reluctantly turned back around.

"I'm more than a bit surprised to see you here. I thought you would be at the hospital," Francis admitted.

"I was, but after Zoë showed up with that new husband of hers I decided to clear out," Alicia said, shaking her head. "To be honest, after avoiding them for so long, I'm already sick to death of family."

"Alicia, you have an extraordinary family who will stand by you through thick and thin," Francis said, shaking his head with a smile.

"Well, right now they're so thick it's definitely wearing thin," she said, and he chuckled in response.

"I can imagine, but you shouldn't take them for granted. Even as long as I've lived there are times I truly miss having my father being around…times when I miss his solid advice," Francis said, growing thoughtful.

"Like now?" Alicia asked slowly. Francis nodded gently, trying to formulate what was in his mind, but was interrupted when his drink arrived and Alicia grabbed a second one. "What about the painting of your parents?"

"Yes, well, I can't say I didn't think of it, but I've been more than a little worried about Foncé," Francis admitted.

"As if he would put himself in a room crowded with wizards," Alicia snorted.

"Now, don't underestimate him, Alicia. I wouldn't put it past him to be anywhere," Francis warned her then took a sip of his wine. Suddenly a strange expression came across his face and he stared at the drink in alarm. "This isn't my normal brand and yet the taste is horrifyingly familiar." Alicia blinked at him, and the two of them got up and went over to the bar. "Might I ask where you got this, Brogan?" Francis asked.

"Don't like it, then?" Brogan said with a frown, but then shrugged. "Man from a winery dropped it off as a promotion to test out locally."

"Can I see the bottle?" Francis asked impatiently.

"Maybe you ought to take a antidote for blood poisoning just in case…" Alicia whispered worriedly when Brogan turned to get the bottle.

"He wouldn't do something quite that direct, Alicia. I may be the only vampire in town, but there are other clients of this bar who drink it occasionally," Francis said. "Blood wine is used in other drinks as well."

"Goblin brew, or in dark wizard cocktails," Rinan offered, tapping his glass. "I've also known a hag witch or two that'll drink it straight on a bad day," he added with a grunt, earning a dirty look from the other two as they waited anxiously for Brogan to come back. Finally he reappeared, holding out the bottle to Francis who stared at the label.

"Wizardbrew Bloodwyne, a delicate blend for those with distinctly acquired tastes," Francis read shakily. "Made from the purest sacrificial lambs. Best served chilled."

"Odd, I thought blood wines were normal served at room temperature," Rinan mused.

"They are," Brogan agreed.

"It is a message from Foncé," Francis said quietly. "This wine was made from the blood of Hogsmeade residents." Rinan suddenly spit out his drink. "It's meant as a warning to me that he's taken over this territory."

"Like hell he is," Brogan said, flushed and angry. "One vampire in town is bad enough…no offense," he added belatedly. "I should ban his stuff. I don't care how popular his wines are…well, yeah I do care, come to think of it…but that doesn't mean I want him in this town!"

"Calm down, Cynn, most of us are more than a match for any lone vampire," Rinan said. "Can I get a bottle of whiskey?" Brogan slammed a bottle on the counter in front of him and Rinan began to gargle it.

"Spit that at the bar, Scur, and I'll throw you out!" Brogan snapped. Scur stared at him calculatingly a moment before heading to the bathroom. "Here, let me get you another drink, Pyther…"

"No, that's quite all right, I think I've already had a sip more than I should have. Perhaps it would have been better if I had just stayed at the castle tonight," Francis murmured, trying to pay him only to get his coins shoved back at him.

"So now you'll just shut the world out like you've been trying to shut me out?" Alicia asked. Francis gave her a long hard look before finally turning towards the door. "Francis, wait!" Alicia pleaded, pulling up her hood and heading after him. Behind her, Rinan and Brogan were exchanging grim expressions. "Francis, please!" she begged as she followed him outside, grabbing a hold of his cloak before he could change forms. "I don't care what threats or dangers there are out there. Just please don't run from me anymore!"

"I am your biggest threat, Alicia!" Francis snapped angrily, trying to shrug away as she held on tighter to his arm.

"I don't believe it," Alicia said firmly. "I don't believe it for an instant! I know you love me, Francis, as much as I love you, and I'm not going to let you turn your back to it anymore!"

With that Alicia kissed him, as passionately as he had kissed her on Christmas Eve and with such insistence that Francis fell into it. He drew her into his arms, pulling her back against the building and out of the light, eagerly returning it. Once again, the world seemed to melt away and nothing else seemed to matter, allowing only an instant after she had finished the kiss before kissing her again, afraid that words might cause reality to come crashing back in to dispel the moment.

It came instead from a sudden rapid drop in his chest and a flash of golden light from the heart pendant around Alicia's neck.

"Foncé!" Francis said with certainty and Alicia suddenly turned on her heels and pulled out her wand, standing guardedly in front of Francis. The other vampire, who had Apparated in a second before, began to laugh in a way that made Alicia's skin crawl to hear it, his dark shape stepping into the moonlight as if he had manifested in the dark shadows around them.

"So, it all becomes clear now," Foncé said with a nasty smile, looking through Alicia to meet Francis' eyes. "My, my, my, Brother Francis, we are in deep! Much deeper than infatuation and definitely much deeper than affection between a mentor and a student…but wait, this started when she was but a child, didn't it? That's right, you admitted it when you laid a blood claim to her, come to think of it. Hm, I really think you should have taken her back then. It'd have saved us all a great deal of trouble, especially since you must realize by now it was only delaying the inevitable. I mean, look at her now. She's so vibrant, so defiant, so protective of her poor defenseless love, and so…undeniably ready!" Francis gently put his hand on Alicia's arm and worked his way up beside her, his wand already in hand. "And yet, Francis, here you are, suffering needlessly because you are afraid of a desire so powerful it brings you to the brink of insanity to even dwell on for more than a moment. And of course, the beauty of it is that it would only take an instant to satisfy it, and that pang of regret you may fear now would never come. Trust me, I know. I was there once…and very soon, you will be," he said with a knowing smile before calmly walking down the street. Alicia watched Fonce warily until he was out of view. She then wrapped her arms around Francis with relief only to find him stiff and his expression stonelike.

"Don't listen to him, Francis," Alicia said firmly. "He's only trying to intimidate you. Please don't let him frighten you…" Francis gazed at her with a deep frown. "You do love me, don't you?"

"I do love you," Francis murmured softly, but became discouraged by the glowing smile that appeared when she heard it. "But this is not wise, Alicia, not wise at all."

"I don't care. I don't care how rough it might be or what obstacles are in our path. I don't want to be with anyone else but you and I never have. I'd do anything for you, Francis…"

"And if I asked you to leave me?" Francis asked.

"Well, anything but that," Alicia said, and Francis gently kissed her, despite the fact that he couldn't get Foncé's words out of his mind.


	39. Bedlam, Mayhem, and Chaos

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Bedlam, Mayhem, and Chaos

Severus Snape could think of several hundred places he would rather be.

In fact, he quickly realized that it would take him a lot less time to think of where he wanted to be even less. Even a school board meeting, he decided, was preferable to what he had walked into when he had reluctantly followed Jennifer to St. Mungo's. It had started out rather routine; Hermione had already been moved into a private room away from the maternity ward off a rather unusually quiet corridor. Only Ron was in there when they arrived, attempting to talk his son out of Hermione's arms and failing miserably at it. Hermione, much to Ron's dismay, wanted to talk about work, but after Jennifer went into extensive detail on what all the staff had been teaching that new semester and on how well Pyther was doing in class, Jennifer didn't seem much inclined to talk much about anything having to do with the Deputy job other than hinting that she had seen Richard's name in the book. In fact, she was parrying questions so quickly that Severus squinted in suspicion, wondering if he shouldn't be paying closer attention despite the fact that papers were still showing up on his desk. But one look in his direction made Jennifer decide it was time to leave Ron and Hermion alone and check on the others, ignoring the frown on Severus' face as they walked down the hall.

It was as they neared the maternity ward that they realized that things were far from calm; and in fact, despite the doctors' and nurses' best efforts, it had spilled out of the waiting room and into the halls as Weasleys and Potters faced off with Draco and Danny, who seemed to be holding their own. Several other wizard families had in one way or another fallen victim to the Minute Alchemist's botch up were there as well, many of them wishing they were anywhere else but between where Potter and Malfoy glared across the room with Ginny, Arthur, and Parvati standing in between them. Wands were being worn visibly all around, and it felt as if something was about to erupt at any moment. There was also, Severus noted, a lack of Snapes; prompting him to look at his watch. But all except Alicia seemed on the property, although he couldn't help but wonder what she was doing in Hogsmeade at that hour. Looking up, he saw that Ginny and Danny's eyes were fixed on him, and he nodded to them both as he and Jennifer stepped in the room.

"Aw, you just missed it!" Joanie Weasley said to Jennifer. She was standing by the door with a notepad, quill, and an excited grin on her face. "Uncle Harry just challenged Minister Malfoy to a Wizard's Duel!"

"And if it were legal for me to accept without resigning, I would have," Draco snapped at Harry ferociously. Severus rolled his eyes.

"Go ahead, resign, that'd make my life easier. Come to think of it, it'll make everyone's life easier the way you run things," Harry said. From the pocket of his jacket, a recently hatched Phoenix hissed at Draco, who would have launched himself at Harry had it not been for Danny's firm hand.

"For some reason, I don't think Cedric or Mary would appreciate either of your deaths on your grandchild's birthday," Severus ventured. "Personally, if I were Cedric, I would have had you both thrown out."

"What a great idea! Can I go suggest it?" Joanie asked hopefully, checking to make sure her camera had film in it.

"Anyone who tries throwing me out will likely get fired," Draco seethed.

"Really? Let's test that. Jennifer, why don't you go send an Owl and ask your father to come down?" Severus suggested. Draco finally turned to Severus.

"Shouldn't you be over with that Black crowd down the hall?" Draco asked.

"Juliet has had a difficult pregnancy and I doubt they need two more underfoot at the moment. We came to check on Essie and to pay our respects to Hermione as well," Severus said.

"Yes, for some reason I knew Richard's name before I even got here," Jennifer hinted with an enigmatic smile towards Arthur who beamed with pride.

"Richard?" Draco said, and then snorted. "Rich Weasley? Now there's an oxymoron for you."

Harry growled and grabbed the handle of his wand threateningly, but Arthur and Charlie leapt over and stopped him before he could pull it.

"Go ahead, Potter, I dare you. I would love to have a reason to put you in Azkaban," Draco said with a sneer.

"Can't we all just get along for one evening?" Percy protested tiredly.

"Shut up, Percy," Harry and Draco snapped at the same time. Fortunately, someone came up behind them before Severus was tempted to get involved again, and he turned to see Angela Greisley tugging on Jennifer's shoulder.

"Want me to show you where Essie is? She checked in early," Angela explained. "Less hostile in there."

"Is that where Corey and the others are?" Jennifer asked.

"Corey, Julie, Doug and Taylor are there," Angela said with a nod.

"Where are Alex, Aurelius and Andrew?" Severus asked.

"Alex went downstairs for some tea or something. She was in here, but she said she needed a breather," Joanie put in.

"I can't say I blame her," Jennifer agreed as Harry and Draco took to glaring at one another, wordlessly but viciously.

"Andrew and Rel said something about visiting another friend," Angela said. "I've never seen this hospital so insane before. The nurse said it's been busy for weeks."

"Uncle Severus!" Severus turned around to see Zoë hurry up behind them. "Juliet just had her babies! Come quick!"

"Why, are they going anywhere?" Severus her expressionlessly, ignoring the fact that Jennifer had already spun around and raced down the hall.

"Oh, stop it!" Zoë scowled at him and then ran into waiting room. Angela chuckled.

"I'm going to go tell Essie, I'll catch up," she said, heading in the opposite direction. Shaking his head, Severus began to walk down the hall, only to be cut off by Andrew who barreled out of a side corridor and waved distractedly as he moved to head in the same direction as Angela.

"And just where are you going?" Severus scowled at him.

"Going to find Danny…"

"She's in the waiting room, where the majority of you darting about the hallways should be," Severus frowned at him.

"Well, you're out here too, Father," Andrew pointed out, but turned around and headed in the same direction as he was. "Aurelius and I have been spent all afternoon trying to talk Eigil into going in to see his wife and child, but well…he's a mess. He's terrified he'll hurt her. Even his Mum couldn't talk him inside…apparently they weren't planning to have any originally, but when Stella turned up pregnant, she decided she wanted to be a mother after all. Bet she had some misgivings trying to deliver, though…you should see the size of that daughter of hers…"

"Thank you, but I have my hands full since Zack and Juliet have had theirs…"

"Have they? Give me a minute to ask Danny if she can help with Eigil then I'll join you…" Andrew slipped past him and went inside the waiting room. Severus didn't bother to stop, especially when he heard the raised voice of one of the doctors threatening to sedate several people in the room, including the Minister of Magic.

But even as Severus wandered ahead, it was quite obvious to tell where the current delivery was, for a small crowd had developed near the doorway, not in the least of which being Jennifer and Sirius who both looked like they were chomping at the bit to go in.

Finally the door opened and Anna appeared with a baby wrapped in blue blankets in her arms, followed by Juliet's sister, Jocelyn carrying in another blue bundled baby.

"Everyone, we'd like to introduce our new arrivals, Joey and Jack," Anna announced, a few aww's coming from the others while Zoë made a face and Severus rolled his eyes.

"So how's it feel to be grandparents?" Alex asked with a grin.

"Grandparents?" Sirius said in a tone that betrayed the fact it hadn't really sunk in yet.

"Yes, welcome to the club," Severus said dryly as Anna put Joey in Sirius' arms and Jennifer coaxed Jocelyn to give up Jack only to immediately plop him down in Zoë's arms, her face suddenly showing both horror and surprise.

"Come, come, you're an aunt now, you have to get used to it too, you know," Jennifer said with a smile, while Sirius and Anna exchanged glances at what Jennifer was attempting to do. Seeing it as well, Severus reached out and plucked Jennifer's arm, pulling her back.

"I don't suppose you want one or two of these for yourself?" Tony asked Zoë mischievously. Anna and Sirius grimaced at each other, having made it perfectly clear on more than one occasion what they thought of Zoë's newest husband.

"No way," Zoë said emphatically. "I have enough trouble taking care of you," she added. He chuckled and kissed her cheek, while Zoë tried to pass the baby off to someone else. Just then, the door opened and a doctor and a pair of tired nurses left, followed by Zack, who received a round of questions and congratulations.

"She's all right, just tired. They plan on keeping her an extra day or two so she can get some rest," Zack explained.

"That's a good idea, because it'll probably be the last rest either of you get for a long while," Sirius warned him, earning chuckles in response.

"So, has anyone started taking bets on if these two are going to give Uncle Severus even more trouble than we did when they get to school?" Zack asked mischievously, taking Jack.

"Impossible," Severus said dryly.

"What are the odds?" Tony asked, only half joking. Zoë gave him a dirty look.

"You mean considering the two of them spent their time at Hogwarts tampering or defacing school property, sneaking off the premises at random intervals – and often out of the country – pulling pranks on students and staff to the point they hold the record on the lowest negative points in school history, not to mention kidnapping a professor from another school and then displaying him at the London Zoo?" Severus inquired.

Tony, who had been shrugging off the first few, couldn't help but blink a few times at the last one.

"Hey, nobody proved that last one. Technically," Zoë added, grinning at Severus' fixed stare.

"Yes, well, let's just say I'll be more prepared next time," Severus said warningly.

"Such a clever boy you and your brother are, Joey Sirius, starting a war with Snape on your very first day!" Sirius said in a babyish voice to Joey, holding on to his hand. "You give him hell, now, you're a Black, it's your sworn duty and God given right to torment the old fool, oh yes it is! Yes it is!" he said and started burbling at the baby, privately delighted by Severus' milk-curdling expression. "You know, I think I could get used to this grandfather thing," he added.

"Good, because it's too late for take backs," Zack said with a grin. "Especially this one, because trouble is his middle name, after all. Isn't that right, Jack Peeves Black?" Everyone suddenly went quiet and stared at him.

"I am sooo going to kill my sister for letting you do that," Jocelyn declared curtly.

"Well look on the bright side, Severus, you still have almost twelve years to plan for it," Jennifer teased him. Severus stared at the twins broodingly for a moment.

"Do you suppose it's too late to add a few more security features to the new potion lab?" Severus asked Jennifer in a low voice, getting a chuckle in response.

It was just before two in the morning when they finally arrived back at the castle, staying only long enough to briefly visit Essie's baby boy, Marcus, before heading home. An hour earlier, Mary and Cedric's little girl Olivia had been born; and much to the dismay of the two argumentative grandfathers wasn't about to leave her mother's hands that night or any following night until the two of them learned how to stand in the same room together. It hadn't helped their case when Ginny and Parvati threw in their support as well; not that Mary and Cedric weren't able to hold their own...in fact, they were more than capable of it. Severus nodded to himself in approval for his two former students, who had settled down quite well after their marriage…a marriage in which they had made perfectly clear to both sides of the family that they'd let nothing stand in their way of it.

Severus' thoughts wandered at that thought, pausing on the spiral staircase a moment to flick out his watch and open it, relaxing when he saw Alicia's hand had swung to over to Baker Street. It hadn't been there the last time he checked an hour ago. He flicked the doors of the Study open and walked in, pausing when he got to his desk. He then stopped to look at his watch again.

"Aren't you coming, Severus?" Jennifer asked with a stifled yawn from where she stood at the sitting room door. "Really, it's late, and I for one have a lot to do tomorrow…"

"I'll be right in," Severus promised, sitting down. "Go ahead and lay down, Jennifer, you look quite exhausted."

"It has been a night," Jennifer agreed, "but I'll wait up."

"Don't make me break out the potion kit," he warned her. Smiling and shaking her head at him, Jennifer shuffled off to the bedroom.

Severus turned and opened the left drawer of his desk and flipped it open a moment, realizing he was an hour too late to confirm his suspicions, for Pyther was already in the potions room. He then grabbed an ornate key and opened the bottom desk drawer, slipping back several secret panels inside, grabbed the Time Turner, then walked to the sitting room with his watch in hand, turning the Time Turner back an hour. Less than a minute later, Severus came in through the double doors and locked it back up, shaking his head as he stared at the map one last time before putting it away.

Jennifer was so tired that she barely even stirred when Carnegie's trumpet blared the next morning. But somehow by seven she was dragging herself out of bed, and thankfully before Severus had begun to wake up. Stealthily slipping out of his grasp she quickly dressed, determined to get something done and on his desk so he wouldn't be tempted to come snooping around what was left of Hermione's office.

Unfortunately, there was even less of her office than there had been yesterday, for overnight another shipment of auction donations had arrived and several more stacks of boxes of all sizes had appeared, partially blocking the doorway. Jennifer groaned and pushed her way in, closing and locking the door behind her.

"Is someone there?" she heard a muffled voice. Jennifer sighed and worked her way over to the painting beside the desk, moving several of the parcels away from Headmaster Dippet's portrait. "Thank goodness! I was afraid you'd sleep all day! I don't suppose you can move these to another room yet? Or perhaps minimize them?"

"I am sorry, Armando, but until I can test and categorize these, there's no way I can do either yet," Jennifer said sympathetically, then sighed, looking around. "It also doesn't help that one of the only unmanned rooms I'd trust to put this stuff in at the moment is filled with paintings, either. I'll have to come up with some alternative."

"I understand, Jennifer," Dippet said with a nod, but then paused. "Will you be working on that today, perhaps?" he asked hopefully.

"I'll do my best, Armando, but I really need to get some of this paperwork done first. Do you remember where I put this month's budget?"

"Under last month's I believe," he said, nodding to the precariously stacked pile of paper. "Which you have yet to successfully total, as I recall…"

"I probably just dropped a column somewhere," Jennifer murmured, using her wand to levitate the pile above so she could pluck the papers she was looking for out. She set them down, triumphant that only the first inch of the stack fell. Scooping them up and tossing them on top, Jennifer poured herself a cup of coffee and allowed herself a moment to take a few sips and settle into her chair.

It was an hour later when a knock pounded on the door. At first she looked up with sheer terror before she realized it wasn't Severus' normal knock. She cautiously went over to open the door only to find a rather irate-looking goblin standing on the other side, eyeing her as if sizing her up for a noose.

"Something wrong, Boulderdash?" Jennifer asked.

"You might want to ask me in," Boulderdash advised. Jennifer looked behind her intimidated.

"How about your office?" Jennifer suggested. Boulderdash squinted.

"I'm here for the payroll, Professor Craw. I had words with my brother yesterday and Griphook is a bit out of sorts about the school's accounts lately and wants it now. Being that he knows I'm here working at the school, he has been pressuring my brother about it."

"Oh," Jennifer said, grimacing. "I suppose you had better come in." Boulderdash smiled unpleasantly at her as she attempted to get out of his way, sheepishly noting his surprise when he stepped into the cluttered room. "Sorry about the mess," she said sheepishly, closing the door quickly behind him.

"Might I ask what all this is?" he said.

"Oh, stuff for the auction. I haven't found time to really run tests and categorize it yet…"

"I see, and then what do you plan to do with it?" the goblin asked warily.

"I have no idea," Jennifer admitted, going over to the desk and rummaging through the paper pile.

"Then might I suggest you simply open a separate bank account just for the auction and make sure you get a Primary Level Underground Galleon account?" Boulderdash said. Jennifer looked up in surprise. "As you should know from maintaining the Craw vault, that account would come with an Appraisal and Assessment clause, which means they would do the testing and categorizing for you."

"Wow, that's a brilliant idea!" Jennifer said, a bit stunned she hadn't thought of it.

"Obvious," Boulderdash said with a sneer, but it left Jennifer staring at the budget and scratching her head.

"How in the world are we going to afford it, though? The fees on that level are horrendous…" Jennifer murmured.

"Doesn't Hermione funnel some of the donations through a general fundraiser account?" Boulderdash sighed.

"Wait a minute! The donations people have been sending in response to the auction note! How silly of me," Jennifer said, opening the drawer she had been stashing it in with a frown. "I suppose I really ought to count it…"

"Enough…enough…I don't think I can take hearing anymore. Payroll, Jennifer?" Boulderdash insisted.

"Oh, right," Jennifer said. "Where did I put it?" Dippet cleared his throat.

"I believe you may have slipped it in with the schedule when you were attempting to bribe someone into organizing OWLS for you this year…" he suggested.

"I may have," Jennifer agreed and got in another drawer, shuffling through the papers on top before pulling it out triumphantly. "There we are! Just give me a minute or two to look it over."

Boulderdash sighed and waited, but then made the mistake of looking at the budgets lying out on the desk, glancing at the ledger underneath them. He blinked, scanned them a second time, and then let out such a growl from the back of his throat that Jennifer looked up at him in surprise, taking a step back.

"Hand me a quill!" he shouted as if he were in pain, snatching the quill out of her hand and pulling the ledger over to strike lines through several mistakes and miscalculations and turned back pages as he tried to sort out just when it had gotten off track. He glared at her ferociously then when he realized that it happened back when she had first taken over and tried to move Pyther's pay around. He snatched up payroll, which thankfully for Jennifer's health seemed to be in order. "In all my years, I swear I've never seen numbers this garbled…except once, and that was in my nephew's practice ledger when he was four," Boulderdash snarled, Jennifer blushing bright red in response as he whipped through the changes and put them up to date in a matter of minutes. "How did you end up in this position again?"

"Are you going to tell Severus?" Jennifer asked anxiously.

"I wouldn't need to tell him anything. All I'd have to do is suggest he drop by," Boulderdash said, pulling over the other budget and looking it over. "How much longer do you have to do this?"

"Three weeks, six days and fourteen hours," the portrait of Dippet said wistfully, earning a dirty look from Jennifer and a sneer from Boulderdash.

"I see you somehow convinced your secretary to keep it quiet," Boulderdash said.

"I would like to think of it as, 'preserving the Headmaster's sanity," Dippet said with amusement.

"Never mind about mine," Jennifer said with annoyance, before turning warily to Boulderdash.

"Put together a form for the Headmaster to sign authorizing me to open that PLUG vault and I'll handle it when I get down there," Boulderdash said, searching through the pile until he found the a group of bills he was looking for, double checking the numbers on the ledger one more time to make sure he had the right ones. "I'll go downstairs and take care of these while I am waiting for that."

"You will?" Jennifer said brightly. "Oh, thank you!"

"I won't cover for you again," Boulderdash snarled for her warningly. "So you had better not be late on any bank business again, because I'm not going to risk my brother's standing in the bank for your benefit. I wouldn't be doing it now, if it wasn't for the fact you needed to open a new account which might placate Griphook a bit."

"I'll make sure she's reminded of it, Librarian," Dippet offered with a smile.

"Thank you," Boulderdash nodded to Dippet. "I'll be back with a vault number so you'll know where to divert these to."

"Gladly!" Dippet said with a smile. "It'll be nice not to be boxed in." Boulderdash snickered at him.

"I'll see you downstairs, Jennifer," Boulderdash added. "With the signature?"

"Signature, right!" Jennifer said at the reminder and pulled out a letterhead.

Boulderdash shook his head and made his way out of the office just in time to see Severus step into the corridor. Inhaling thoughtfully, Boulderdash snapped the door shut and walked straight over to him.

"Ah good, you're awake! Might you have a moment? I was wondering if you could come down to the library, house business, you know." Boulderdash asked. Severus frowned but nodded.

"I suppose I have a moment," he said reluctantly, eyeing the room Boulderdash came out suspiciously before turning to follow him.

By the time Severus got back upstairs, Jennifer was sitting in the Headmaster's Study, dutifully going through parent letters while munching on a pumpkin butter sandwich.

"And just what have you been up to all morning?" Severus asked suspiciously.

"Paperwork," Jennifer said, not looking up right away. "Do you suppose you can sign a release so that Boulderdash can set up a bank vault for the auction?"

"Oh, yes, he mentioned something about that," Severus said and went over to the desk, Jennifer gazing at him intently for a moment before getting up. "Tricked him into helping you organize it, did you?"

"You might say that," Jennifer said with an enigmatic smile as she accepted the paper back. "Thanks, I'll go ahead and run this down."

"Very well. Do you have much more to do?" he asked.

"A bit," Jennifer admitted with a nod.

"Need any help?" he added expressionlessly.

"No…no, not really, I'm fine. Most of it is class work. I should be able to get that done before timed potions go off, so if you need me, I'll be heading there around dinnertime," Jennifer said quickly before hurrying out of the room. Severus stood staring at the door for a moment, drumming his fingers on his desk.

"You gonna call her on that?" Caprica asked with a grin. Severus had been busy considering it, glancing over the other papers she had sent to his desk thoughtfully.

"No," he said at last. "Everything looks to be in order."

"Looks can be deceiving," Caprica said with a smile. Severus looked over at her with a frown.

"And by that, do you mean that you know something I don't?" he challenged her. But she simply laughed.

"I know a lot of things that you don't Severus. This job wouldn't be any fun otherwise!" Caprica said. Glaring at her in annoyance, Severus sat down at his desk and proceeded to ignore her for the rest of the afternoon.

For her part, Jennifer spent the time cleaning Hermione's office; labeling all the packages to be sent to the bank while stuffing as much of the other stuff as she could into the desk and minimizing what was left over so it at least looked to be in order. The lack of sleep was catching up with her, but the early double she had the next morning motivated her to head to the potion room to prep her classes.

With coffee at her side, Jennifer pulled out her books and buried herself in her work, glad beyond belief to be back doing something she was good at. In fact, she was so absorbed with it that she lost track of the time, so when a thick mist began to fill the room it took her completely by surprise.

"What in the blazes…" she began, leaping to her feet as she realized it was coming from the test painting. "Craters!" she cussed and dove towards the lab, opening the valves. But nothing at all came out of the box; it was all coming out of the painting itself. Pulling out her wand, she uncovered the painting, planning to cut it off with a strong air spell as it enveloped her. She felt a strange pull as she worked on dissipating it that she didn't quite understand…something beyond the strangely colored clouds of the painting that seemed to be beckoning to her. Frowning, she found herself reaching out to it only for her hand to pass through it. Jennifer blinked in complete surprise. Did that mean what she thought it meant, she wondered, feeling an overwhelming urge to push her hand in further.

"Stop, Jennifer! Pull yourself together, damn it, you know better than this!" shouted Icarus' angry voice. Jennifer looked up in surprise to see it wasn't Icarus at all, but his painting who had worked his way into one of the other paintings in the room. "Back away, for eternity's sake! BACK AWAY!" Jennifer frowned at him but pulled her hand away and took a step back, wondering why her head wasn't clearing but knowing without a doubt now that something was wrong. She suddenly felt extremely weak, barely able to get another step in before she used her wand to fling the windows open, collapsing on the floor just as the real Icarus arrived with Severus right on his heels.

"Jennifer!" Severus called out, racing over to check on her and carry her over to the window to get some air. "Ick, go get Pyther, and ask Sagitarri up to the medical wing!"

"Of course, sir," Icarus said and began descending through the floor. "You're welcome," he added dryly as he disappeared out of view.

Severus reached in his pocket and pulled out a phial and waved it in front of her nose. Almost immediately she pushed it away in protest before staring up at Severus in confusion.

"You all right? What happened just now?" Severus asked her as she struggled to get up. Severus pulled out a chair and made her sit down.

"Something…something came out of the painting when the test phial went off. It was like…some part of those clouds were pushed into the room and for a moment…well, I might have just imagined it, but I felt for a moment like I could cross over into it."

"I don't doubt it, but it would have been a mad thing to do. Don't you remember me telling you I modified that from a dimension traveling potion? Considering the obvious danger, I'd think you would have more sense to even give it a passing thought!" he snapped.

"I couldn't help it, it just seemed so…enticing at the time," Jennifer admitted. "I'm over it now, though," she admitted sheepishly.

"Fine, but you're still going to see Sagittari," Severus insisted, then looked up when he heard footsteps and saw Pyther walk in, looking alarmed.

"What happened here? Icarus came and told me Jennifer had been attacked!" Francis said frantically.

"In a matter of speaking," Severus said. "The experiment the two of you were running decided to go awry and some of that cloud matter from the other dimension got into the room. It's bound to have gotten on the paintings in here, so we'll need to secure them as quickly as possible."

"The paintings?" Pyther repeated, then suddenly screeched in realization. "My painting!" He dove for the closet and popped it open.

"Never mind that right now, come in here and secure these," Severus snapped at him when he disappeared inside of it.

"I should write down the test numbers first," Jennifer murmured tiredly. "I'm fine, really…"

"Stay put, Jennifer. There's bound to be some sort of residue left," Severus warned her. "I'll get the numbers myself."

"It's gone!" Francis shrieked, stepping out of the closet.

"Pyther, do you mind? We have enough to deal with without you going into one of your frenzies," Severus snapped as he quickly took a sample and began cleaning up the room. "Whatever it is you're missing can wait to be found later. Start gathering up the paintings!"

"Yes, Professor," Pyther said worriedly, but then he turned around and shrieked again. "Alicia's painting of me is gone, too!"

"Check your office and the confinement room, but not until after you've moved every last painting in here to quarantine!" Severus ordered, and then helped Jennifer up. "I'll be in the hospital ward when you're done. And don't forget to detox yourself from that dust before you leave the quarantine room. I have a feeling we're in for another bad outbreak. Come on, Jennifer. And the next investment we make is getting a new Freeze Frame," he said. Jennifer groaned softly, wondering where she was going to work that into the freshly balanced budget.

Francis sighed and began gathering the paintings, trying to push back his worry but working as quickly as possible to get it done. The portraits themselves were somber and worried about their own welfare, especially when they were hurriedly plopped on easels in a room filled with clouded over paintings.

"I am sorry, but it can't be helped! I'll try to come and check on you later," Francis promised them before he ran out again, taking the stairs by twos and striding down the corridors left and right to get to the containment room, his eyes darting over all the paintings before turning on his heels and down the stairs towards the Defense rooms. He thrust open the door of his office, frowning when he didn't see what he was looking for and began pulling his hair in frustration. Well, why the devil did Severus tell him to look here at all then, he wondered, and on a whim checked the utility closet.

There, carefully wrapped in velvet, was none other than his painting of Alicia, safe and sound. Relief nearly overwhelmed him, and he had to sit down to keep his head as he unwrapped it fully to gaze at it. It was nearly finished now. The diamond heart necklace had been the perfect addition to her neckline, and the look in the painting's eyes was so much truer than it ever had been before…and even more loving than they ever had been before.

"I hope you know you just scared the unliving nightlights out of me again!" Francis scolded her, and she merely shook her head at him with exasperation. "But how did you get here?" The portrait put a finger to her lips. "I see how it is, keeping secrets from me before I've even put the finishing touches on," he said, glancing in the closet again. "But where's the portrait of me at?" She shrugged unknowingly. Francis sighed. "Well, I suppose I ought to inform the Headmaster he was half right, at least. I'll be back later," he promised and then covered her back up, slipping the portrait back inside the closet and locking it up again with a frown.

When Francis got to the medical ward, Jennifer was sitting on the bed with her wand out. Sagitarri made some final notes on his sheet, while Severus stood with his arms folded, looking thoughtful.

"Yes, I do believe that Jennifer is right. She did experience some sort of drain, but whether it was from the gaseous cloud coming from the painting or contact from the painting or simply even her altered state, I cannot say," Sagittari said solemnly.

"How much of a drain?" Severus asked.

"Since Jennifer is already strained from lack of sleep, it is hard to guess," Sagittari said, frowning at her disapprovingly. "A good night's rest…without any potion encouragement…" he added with a knowing frown at Severus, "then I want you to drop by tomorrow so I can make sure there are no lingering effects, Jennifer."

"But I have an early double!" Jennifer protested.

"Oh, no you don't, Jennifer. You heard the doctor; you're to sleep yourself out. I'll cover it myself," Severus said. "John can stand to take a morning off. Did you find what you were missing, Pyther?" he asked when he noticed him by the door.

"Um, one of them, sir," Francis said carefully.

"Only one? Where was it?" Severus frowned.

"Locked in my closet in my office, strangely enough…"  
"Did you check the confinement room for the other one?" Severus asked.

"Yes, sir, and I was in the quarantine room as well. I don't know where Alicia's painting of me went," Francis said. Severus squinted thoughtfully a moment.

"I have an idea, but first thing's first. Jennifer, off to bed, then I need to take care of something. Never mind the missing painting, Pyther. I'll look into it myself, although you might want to stay out of the potion room for the evening," he advised before leading Jennifer out of the room.

"Yes, sir," Francis said thoughtfully, still having no clue how the painting had gotten in the closet and a little baffled by Severus' lack of surprise as to where he found it. Shrugging it off, Francis reluctantly went back to his office, more intent on the post he had seen on his desk than the pile of work he had in waiting for him.

The next day at lunch, Connie, Ambrose and Lucky walked into the back of the library with solemn looks on their faces, although Laura and Dale greeted them warmly.

"Have some sandwiches. Bad day?" Dale asked curiously when we came in.

"Yeah, the Professor decided to take over our class this morning and gave us a lab test," Lucky glowered.

"Yeah, but you should see Delia. We had to choose our ingredients from stuff he had on the table and she must've gotten some rotten wart root because she broke out in bright purple spots!" Ambrose grinned

"Never mind all that!" Connie snapped. "Dale, did you get the painting yesterday?"

"Sure, it was a cinch. Why, did someone notice?" Dale asked curiously.

"Notice? There wasn't a single painting in the whole room! Professor Snape said that Craw and he had been working on test potions for fixing the paintings, and one of them went wrong last night and they think the whole room got contaminated!" Connie said. Dale whistled low.

"If I knew that was going to happen, I'd have left it in there. Sure as anything, if we're right, it wouldn't have been infected," Dale said.

"And if we're wrong, the Professor is going to kill us for borrowing paintings," Connie said.

"Nah, he wouldn't kill us," Ambrose protested.

"Torture, maybe," Lucky muttered.

"And besides, we've simply moved the painting, they're in the castle after all," Dale pointed out.

"For some reason I'm not sure the Headmaster would appreciate your sense of logic," Connie said. "Is the painting here?"

"No, not now, I moved it for safety reasons. See, I had a talk with the Old Sentinels and Caprica about the Pyther painting after I borrowed it, and they said it wasn't really far enough along to be sentient so I…well, went ahead and ran the experiment," Dale explained. "But don't worry, Corey suggested somewhere I could put it where it didn't run any risk of getting around the other paintings or anyone finding it."

"All right, where's that?"

"One of the girls bathrooms," Dale said. Lucky and Ambrose stared at him, while a smile crept on Connie's face.

"_Qué?"_

"You know, the downstairs one, Lucky, the one with the audience," Connie said.

"Oh yeh," Lucky said with a grin. "I got it now."

"Anyhow, you could both do me a favor by going in to check on it, since it'll look less suspicious if a girl does it if someone happens by in the halls. If anything's going to happen, it'll be in the next few hours, maybe even before dinner," Dale said.

"Sure, why not," Lucky shrugged. "We'll go by after our last class."

"You don't have Defense tonight?" he asked

"Helena and Pimra do," Laura said, and Dale nodded to her.

"All right, you all want to me up in the library again then?"

"Sure," Connie said, and grabbed a sandwich thoughtfully, the conversation turning to more trivial things.

That night, the two of them took only a quick look around before slipping into the Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, standing just inside the door warily a moment.

"Doesn't seem to be here. Maybe she's out on the grounds with Noah," Connie said.

"Good. That ghosts gives me the creeps," Lucky said, walking further in. Connie grinned at her.

"Aren't ghosts supposed to give you the creeps?" she asked.

"Aquí, here on the back wall," Lucky said, going over to the painting partially hidden behind a stall. Pyther smiled back at them warmly.

"He seems to be all right so far at least, even if it is a bit damp in here for paintings," Connie said. "Although I wonder if it's too soon to be positive."

"We'll send someone to check back after breakfast then," Lucky said, impatient to get out of there. "Come on, let's go."

Tim and Reggie gaped openly as Connie followed Lucky's lead and shoved as food as possible on top of her bread and curled it to make a messy sandwich, wolfing it down and guzzling their juice in record time before the two of them got up again, Lucky only pausing to pluck a carrot off the table before they took off out of the Great Hall.

"You know, our cousin's association with that Snape girl is really starting to worry me," Reggie confided to his brother.

Boulderdash, used to how quickly Lucky managed to get to the library at night, barely even looked up when they came in, eating something out of an ornate casserole dish that smelled so vile that neither wanted to make any guesses as to what it was. The two of them got settled, getting out their books with little intention of studying right away. A few minutes later Ambrose and Lindsay came in, followed by Dale and Laura.

"You guys left too early!" Ambrose told them. "Professor Craw was cutting through the Great Hall when Mr. Carnegie came running up and the two of them took off like a shot! What do you suppose is going on?"

"They did look like they were in a hurry," Laura agreed, shuffling through her books. "Come on, Lucky, let's go through your Defense assignment."

"Aren't you even curious to what's going on?" Ambrose said.

"We have enough to worry about, Ambrose," Dale said, putting his books down and looking over at Connie and Lucky. "Did you check on the painting?"

"Yeah, it was fine just before dinner," Connie nodded.

"Great. I started the test right before lunch so hopefully it's a good sign," Dale said.

"Yes, but now what?" Lindsay asked. "I mean, even if we know for sure there's a connection between what's going on and Pyther, we still don't know why it's happening."

"Yes, but the fact that there is a connection is one step closer to finding the cause," Dale said.

"What I don't get is that if there is a connection to Pyther like there seems to be, why did all of this start when he wasn't in the castle?" Laura asked. "As I understand it, he hadn't been living anywhere near here for years."

"That is a bit puzzling," Dale agreed.

"Maybe it was someone's way of luring them back?" Connie suggested. Dale gazed at her for a long time.

"You may be onto something," Dale said, getting up. "Let's pull the Sentinel painting out and see what Caprica thinks." He went back behind the bookshelves to the spot they hid the painting, when suddenly he let out such a scream that Boulderdash barreled in from the next room with fantastic speed, stopping short when he got to Dale and saw what he was looking at. The rest of the house crowded around from behind, staring horror stricken at the rolling, boiling clouds behind the frame where the Sentinels once had been. "How could this have happened? It wasn't near any of the others!"

"Maybe you accidentally contaminated it," Ambrose said.

"No way! I haven't spoken to them since I ran the test on the other painting!" Dale said fervently.

"Well, whatever the cause, I'm afraid you can't protect it now," Boulderdash said. "Hand me the painting, Mr. Chance, so I can take it up to the quarantine room and try to track down the Headmaster."

"What are you going to tell him?" Connie asked worriedly.

"Simply that I 'found' the painting this way," Boulderdash shrugged unworriedly. "Hand me that drop cloth over there on my repair table, that'll do for a cover for now…"

"Wait a minute," Dale said; still holding onto the painting, face a bit pale. "I think I'd better come with you. After all, it's my fault it's down here in the first place."

"Not really. We didn't have to let you in, you know," Ambrose put in.

"Besides, it wasn't just you, Dale. Pimra and I have been helping Caprica long before you got involved," Connie added.

"Yeah, they're all guilty," Lucky agreed. Lindsay sighed and put a hand on her arm, ignoring how quickly she shrugged it away.

"We all helped," Lindsay said. "Really, in the end it was a full house effort, after all. Don't you think it's time we all came clean?"

"That's hardly fair, Lindsay, when Pimra and Lena aren't here to have a say in it," Laura said. "And they're still in Defense class."

"Well, I suppose the Headmaster can wait an hour," Boulderdash grunted. "It'll give me more time to come up with an excuse he can swallow if you rule in favor of keeping it to yourselves."

Dale hadn't ever completely trusted the librarian; quite sure he was telling the Headmaster more about the goings on of a certain study group than he let on. But his opinion of the Goblin improved a lot in that moment, knowing that Boulderdash was sincere in his offer to take the blame rather than having it fall on them. For that reason, along with his own conscience, Dale knew without a doubt that no matter what the House decided to do, he was going to tell his part in it. But he need not have worried; for when the two girls were told the whole situation, they agreed with the others.

"There go our points," Helena said with a sigh, the last one to raise her hand when it came to a vote. Boulderdash simply nodded and disappeared out the door.

"There are worse things than losing a few points, Lena," Pimra said, watching him go. "Right now I'm so terribly worried about Corey and his friends and the Sentinels that I feel sick. Do you suppose they're lost forever?"

"Not after everything everyone has done for them," Dale said fervently.

"It's just a painting," Lucky sighed. "Corey is across the hill in Hogsmeade, Ravenclaw is still teaching, Janus is our house ghost, and Danny is now Madame Brittle of Slytherin House."

"But what about Bedivere? Now both of his paintings are gone. And what of Dame Rachel? She's not in the castle at all anymore," Pimra said, growing even more upset.

"It's going to be all right," Lindsay reassured her, taking her hand. "Nobody's going to stop working on this until they're all restored, including the Headmaster."

"Yeah, but I'm not so sure we're going to live long enough to see it," Lucky murmured as Boulderdash entered with Severus and Jennifer right behind him. Dale immediately stood as Boulderdash went over and showed them the painting.

"This is definitely the one," Severus said with a sigh as they stared at the clouds somberly. Jennifer shook her head.

"I can't believe I let it slip my mind. I was so busy thinking about the experiment itself, I forgot all about seeing Ick in the painting…"

"It wouldn't have changed anything if you had remembered, Jennifer," Severus said gently.

"Ick?" Boulderdash asked with a frown.

"Apparently, the portrait of Icarus attempted to warn Jennifer about the bad potion last night while the real Icarus had gone to get me," Severus explained to him.

"That explains a lot," Dale said, slightly relieved it wasn't something they had done. On hearing him, Severus turned around and looked at him, standing by the table while the rest of them sat quietly with glum expressions. "I'm the one who moved the painting, sir. But I was simply attempting to protect it, not put it in more danger."

"First you blow up my lab and now this?" Severus asked expressionlessly, but Dale grimaced in response. "And just how long have you been taking orders from paintings?"

"They weren't ever orders exactly, sir…"

"Fine. How long have you been listening to them?"

"Long enough, apparently," Dale said ruefully.

"Long enough to be talked into 'borrowing' one of the most dangerous paintings in the school and removing it from the castle for several weeks?" Severus asked. Dale paled dramatically.

"Now, Severus, there's no need for jumping to that conclusion, is there?" Boulderdash chided him. "I admit that I willingly allowed the boy to store the painting here when he was concerned about its safety, but it's been here safe and sound since then, and the moment we realized things weren't right with the painting we informed you. I know my duty to this school well enough to know to inform you if I feel that a student acted with illegal intent towards the school and I assure you that there wasn't any intent," the goblin said smoothly.

"Fine, I'll drop the subject," Severus said with a sigh, ignoring the fact exchange of looks between the students at the table. "Is this the only painting you've been protecting?" Dale began to shake his head, but then stopped.

"Actually, the other painting I wasn't exactly protecting. We were running an experiment…but I got permission first…" he blurted out when he saw the way the Headmaster was staring at him. "From Professor Dusthorn," he added reluctantly.

"By what authority?" Severus frowned at him.

"Chairman of the Conscience Paintings Committee," Dale said evenly. "We were hired to investigate allegations that their representative may be partially responsible for the attacks on their persons." Lindsay and Laura glanced at each other, while the rest of the house were still busy trying to figure out what he had just said.

"And just who made these allegations?" Severus squinted.

"Pimra, Constance and myself, sir," Dale explained, Severus' eyes darting over at the girls. Connie simply looked at him straight on, while Pimra barely managed to keep herself from slipping under the table. "You have the list on you, Pimra?" Pimra nodded and went through her folders, finally pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to Dale over the table to hand to the Headmaster. Curiously, Jennifer came over and read over his shoulder until he moved it over so she could see better.

"I don't believe it, it's the full list! There are a lot of paintings on here we haven't even identified yet!" Jennifer exclaimed. "And you even found most of the years they were painted too?"

"That was a lot harder," Pimra admitted. "But we started out by trying to find some sort of age connection."

"But how did you get the names of these?" Jennifer frowned. Pimra shrugged.

"We asked Dusthorn," she said simply. Severus groaned.

"I knew waking her up was a mistake," Severus muttered. "And exactly why didn't you tell us about all of this, Caprica?" Everyone else turned around in surprise to see her on the far wall. Boulderdash quickly pulled Dale back away from her, covering the infected painting protectively.

"You didn't ask," Caprica said simply. "One of the many reasons I decided to launch an investigation of my own."

"We have hardly been ignoring the situation! In fact…well, that is how this particular wave got started, actually," Jennifer said, frowning at the covered painting.

"And I applaud your efforts in trying to find a cure," Caprica said with a nod. "But you know as well as I do that we also need to find out what started it, and my students have only done what they thought was necessary to make strides in that effort."

"You knew I would never approve of using students in this way, Caprica," Severus scowled at her.

"Of course I knew," Caprica said with an amused grin. "It's your job to disapprove. You have rules you have to follow. But I don't, and that means I can do whatever's best for the school without that restriction. You can try to stop me, of course, but I think in this case we'd be better off cooperating, don't you?"

"What have you found out?" Severus asked. Caprica simply smiled and gestured to Dale, and before he knew it, Dale found himself leading them to the girl's bathroom while Boulderdash headed to the quarantine room with the painting. On the way he told them everything they had learned, while Severus scanned over the list and listened thoughtfully.

But when they went in and turned the corner, Dale cried out in surprise, for that painting too had turned to clouds.

"Well, so much for that theory! And I was so sure Pimra was right!" Dale began apologetically. But Severus held up his hand, the same thoughtful expression on his face. He then glanced over at Jennifer for a long moment, and she shrugged unknowingly. "We wouldn't have tried it sir, if we weren't positive there had been a connection," Dale continued when neither of the professors spoke.

"Don't be so quick to abandon your theories, Mr. Chance," Severus said, glancing once more at Jennifer who then moved over to secure the paintings. "There may yet be something to this idea. We need a painting that's a bit more neutral. Something from some other artist not associated with the school at all and that Pyther has no connection to."

"I could check with one of the other schools, Professor, perhaps one of them might know an artist who could help," Jennifer suggested.

"Start with Whitebridge. It'd be less likely to be anyone he may have been acquaintance with outside of Europe," Severus said. "And check with John to find out how many other paintings that were not in that room during the accident also became infected while I deal with Mr. Chance's 'borrowing' school property." Dale immediately turned somber, knowing this wasn't likely to be good. Smiling sympathetically at him, Jennifer raced back out.

Jennifer wandered down the hall and up the stairs, careful not to bump into any students with the painting as she went to add it to the quarantine room. She glanced at the point totals before heading up the stairs, but none of them had fallen yet. How was it that what should have been a simple experiment had gone so wrong? She didn't have much time to really think of it; the work she had been planning to do that night was still far from done, and there was that pile of minimized paperwork still to go through in Hermione's office.

Well, at least she had had a good night's sleep, she thought ruefully, quickly taking a Wakeful Dose before she had a chance to talk herself out of it and then went to work, helping John to sort and categorize all the paintings that had fogged over the night before. She sighed in resignation when she saw that the entire stack of paintings that Pyther had laid flat for storage in the painting closet had all fell victim to the cloud as well.

"It might have saved us time to have just put the whole blasted closet in here," Jennifer said irritably.

"Not a bad idea, even after the fact, Professor. It's getting almost as crowded in here as it is in the confinement room," John sighed. "At the rate we're going, we'll have well over half the paintings in the castle in one room or the other by the month's end."

"Tell me something I don't already know," Jennifer said with a sigh before she stepped out of the room with the list, taking a moment to stop by Pyther's classroom. Pyther paused his lecture on the five clans and stared at the list Jennifer handed him, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Merlin?" Pyther asked quietly, frowning at the sixth years who were peering out the door curiously.

"I don't think so," Jennifer murmured back. "You might want check in with the Headmaster after class." Pyther frowned, his expression revealing he had other plans, but he nodded with acceptance, going back to his classroom. Jennifer couldn't help but be a bit surprised at what she had read, but she had no time to explore it that night. Hoping she would remember to bring it up with Severus later, Jennifer stopped in the Headmaster's Study long enough to drop off the list and scribble out a note before gathering her books and heading off to Hermione's Office.

Severus woke up to find an unusually tidy bedroom and sitting room; proof positive that Jennifer had never made it back in that night. Pushing back all the stress and worries that had haunted his mind through his restless sleep, he glanced at his watch, strode to his Study, and then stared at the map.

"She's still in there? How much more could she possibly have left to do?" he said out loud, glancing at the paperwork on the desk skeptically but found everything still in order, if not a bit hastily filled out.

"Quite a bit from what I've heard," Caprica said almost casually, getting Severus' attention.

"I told her to come to me if she ever got in over her head," he said in annoyance, staring at the map.

"Oh, she's been in over her head since she first stepped into that office," Caprica laughed. "Besides, since when does she go to you when she's over her head in anything?" Severus groaned softly.

"And why is it that you're just now mentioning it?" Severus snapped.

"The same reason you tried not to question it," Caprica said with amusement. "To give her the benefit of the doubt. And since we're supposed to be working together now, well…I figured you ought to know about it. Dippet has been at wit's end since she stepped foot in that office. But never fear!" she said with a dramatic pause, apparently amused at the way Severus was staring at her. "I have it on very good authority that help is on the way!" Severus squinted at her suspiciously.

"Who?" he asked, and as surprised as he was to hear the name spoken, he was also struck by the fact that he was probably going to end up having to thank Merlin after all.

Because by breakfast, Jennifer found herself more than a little buried with stacks of papers all around, including several missing stacks of bills she had forgotten she had even hidden until Dippet decided to remind her just after midnight that the majority of them were due that day. She heard the sound of a bell and looked up at the clock in horror.

"Great stars, I have class in an hour! How am I going to get this done?" Jennifer said.

"Why don't you simply borrow the Time Turner?" Dippet suggested.

"After already staying up all night to try to make sense out of all of this? Severus would never let me live it down!" Jennifer protested.

"He's also not going to be happy if those don't get in the post either…"

"You're not helping!" Jennifer snapped at him as she flipped through them. "Damn it, some of these are for Sally Scribe's books for her independent study course! Where did I put the file on special student funds?"

"Probably beneath the Muggle Studies agenda, since you last got it out to check on the field trip expenditures," Dippet sighed. Jennifer stared at the precarious stack of paperwork sitting in the As Soon As Prudently Possible rack, knowing all too well it was likely then to be on the very bottom. Carefully, she levitated the stack with her wand and tried to inch it away from the lower half of the stack. But as she moved to wriggle it away, her elbow hit another stack. She instinctively turned to try and stop the second one from falling, but her waning concentration caused the levitation spell to break and left her flailing. Her attempts at trying to stop the inevitable only kept making things worse until finally she found herself on the floor of the office, quite literally covered in unfinished paperwork. She sighed and stared at the ceiling, reaching out and grabbing a handful of crocuses from the vase she had toppled and holding them to her chest in complete resignation.

"Why, Jennifer Craw Snape, I don't believe I have ever seen you quite so…melodramatic," said a woman's voice so strikingly familiar and so surprising that Jennifer sat straight up with widened eyes, turning towards the door.

"Minerva!" Jennifer shrieked with joy, bursting out of the paperwork and running over to hug the woman, laughing and crying at the same time and astounded to see that Minerva McGonagall was doing the same. "It's you, it's really you! What are you doing here? How did you get here? Oh, come have some tea! I'm sure there's a tray in here…somewhere…"

"The tea can wait, Jennifer," Minerva said with a thin smile, nodding down the hall at where Severus stood before closing the door and locking it. "You have an hour left to get me acquainted with how Hermione has this office set up…or should I say, _had_," she added, Jennifer grimacing sheepishly. "If you must know, Albus came flying over to my cottage the moment he got back and told me the situation, and from the looks of things without a moment to lose! I've already cleared it with Severus, so once you've reoriented me with the aches and pains of being back in a material world, you should be back to your normal duties…and considering all the mess the two of you have gotten yourselves into this year, I say it's high time, don't you?"

"Oh, Minerva!" Jennifer said, too relieved to really put into words what she was really thinking. "I don't know how I would have managed another month without you, to be perfectly honest!"

"Well then, aren't you glad now you don't have to find out?" Minerva said with amusement. "I bet Severus is glad too," she added mischievously before turning to help Jennifer sort out the paperwork.


	40. Downfall

_A/N Please note this is the **second** chapter I have put up today for those of you are reading along, the first being Bedlam,Mayhem, and Chaos. (None of which anyone wants to miss ;) ) Also a few of you missed the chapter called In Pyther's Defense (which is what happens in his Defense class.) After this chapter I'm going to wait until the majority of you have a chance to catch up reading and have an opportunity to respond if you've been wanting to. _

_The ending of this chapter was especially tough to write and stay PG (or T, whichever you prefer.) In fact, it reminds me of how I felt writing that one chapter with Zoe and the wizard drug house. But when you dance with vampires...you have to dance with words a bit, too. Even with that said, I kept it as tense and dark as possible, so I hope you will enjoy it. JCWriter. _

Chapter Forty

Downfall

If Severus had been expecting to see more of his wife after Minerva's valiant rescue, he was quickly disillusioned as the week wore on. But Severus knew his wife well enough to know that a great deal of the time she was spending 'reacquainting Minerva' had more to do with getting her caught up on all the gossip over the last few years rather than any real constructive offer of help, and she was at least finally getting to bed on time and seemed more focused and, admittedly, a great deal happier and less worn than she had been since she had come back from the holidays. Still, Severus had plenty of professional reasons to see her, even if she didn't seem in much of a hurry to make time for him otherwise, so she agreed without protest to meet him after dinner to discuss the potion experiment.

After a well placed hint to Sagittari that suggested that Jennifer might not have been eating well, Severus had easily secured a basket of her favorite foods from the overly concerned centaur, insuring him Jennifer's attention for at least an hour as she quite contentedly settled in her favorite chair with some pita stuffed with olives and goat cheese and gazing over the last numbers they had gathered when the experiment went bad.

"The only thing different in the formulas that could have possibly gone wrong is the timing suspension, but I was thinking of a way around that," Jennifer said, Severus looking over with interest. "If we do find a formula that works to clear up the paintings, why don't we just have a volunteer portrait walk in and take the potion from whatever painting we put it in and set it in the frame manually?"

"Assuming, of course, that a painting can move an actual item stored within a painting to another frame to begin with," Severus mused.

"Well, you're the one that convinced me it's a spatial dimension," Jennifer said defensively, but he simply shrugged.

"It's definitely an idea worth looking into, assuming it is the suspension that was the problem," Severus admitted, gazing at the formula again.

"I don't really see what else it could be. It was the only thing different between the two formulas," Jennifer said, but immediately saw that Severus wasn't so convinced.

"How would you feel about breaking out the Pensieve so I can look closer at what happened during those tests?" he said after a moment.

"Sure, why not?" Jennifer agreed, quickly finishing her dinner before heading to her sitting room. Severus took his time eating to allow her to clear her mind for a few minutes and gather the appropriate memories, and then finally joined her just as she was putting the last strand in. "It's ready, Severus," Jennifer said, watching the memories swirling inside. It had been years since she felt in the least bit uncomfortable sharing her memories him…in fact, after she had regained her memories in the maze, even the worst of them seemed so much easier to bear since she stopped trying to hide them away.

"Let's start with the first test you ran on the spatial potions," Severus suggested, and she nodded, concentrating once again on the Pensieve and watching it focus in, entering it with the touch of a hand. A moment later, Severus appeared by her side, thoughtful and alert as he scanned the room looking at every minute detail while partially listening to Jennifer and Pyther. Severus frowned, noting that Pyther was much more interested in the conversation than what he was supposed to be doing, not even looking at the painting when the first test phial went off. But when Severus attempted to get a better angle he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. But of course he wouldn't. Jennifer hadn't turned around to look at it, so there wouldn't have been any memory of it had there been anything different about it in that moment. It was about that time that Hedwig showed up and it was who Jennifer became distracted, and Severus found himself getting quite annoyed by how little they had been paying attention to their work. It was about that time that Severus saw Pyther take the dust from Jennifer, watching as he dusted it with a lab swab onto the painting.

"Pyther, you forgot to put gloves on. You'd really better scrub up so we don't have any more outbreaks," the Jennifer in the memory chided him, glancing over her numbers one last time.

"So he did," Severus murmured, pulling the real Jennifer over as the two in the memory started talking again. "That is what happened, Jennifer…somehow Pyther ruined the experiment because he had no gloves on."

"What?" Jennifer frowned in confusion. "But why would that matter?"

"Think of what Dale and the others were trying to tell us, Jennifer, about there being some sort of connection between what's going on and Pyther. We should try and duplicate this in a more controlled…and less distracted…environment," Severus said, Jennifer grimacing apologetically in response. "If I'm correct, we may have proof positive they were on the right track without risking more than a test painting."

As it happened, Jennifer knew she was going to get an opportunity to talk to Pyther about setting up another experiment, for she had already volunteered to help him with his classes that night. Noting Severus' irritation when she informed him of the fact, she found herself thinking about it as she walked out to the greenhouse, wondering when they could get any time off, especially with the tournament starting and Quidditch practice resuming. Well, they would just have to make time, she thought to herself, grabbing up the large pot that Pomona had left out for her and carrying it into the Defense room.

Right on her heels came Dale Chance, excusing himself and hurrying to his seat just as the clock chimed seven. He let out a sigh of relief as Jennifer slipped into Pyther's office, shaking her head at him with a smile. Bobby tugged on his shirt.

"There you are, where were you at dinner?" he whispered.

"Detention ran over," Dale murmured in annoyance, looking over his water-puckered hands. "And for the record, Laura, I think your cousin is sadistic having me clean all the girls' bathrooms. I never want to see inside another as long as I live."

"Don't blame Carnegie, you were the one who decided to hide the painting in there," Laura whispered back defensively.

"Well, at least the Headmaster didn't take off any Ravenclaw points for your silly framework," Bobby said.

"He knew it'd burn more personally if it affected only our study group," Dale muttered, turning back around. He still remembered the look on Helena's face when she was shaking the abacus around and staring in horror at the hundred-point drop. Only Slytherin was below them now; and the only reason they were lower was thanks in large part to Don's inability to keep his mouth clean. At least someone cussed more than Lucky, Dale thought with amusement, but he quickly buried his thoughts as Mr. Pyther and Professor Craw stepped back in the room.

"Good evening, everyone! Hand up your homework," Francis said as Jennifer sat the large pot on his desk. She was aware that behind her the class was staring at the pot with curiosity, some of them making faces when they recognized the leaf structure from their Herbology class.

"I hope you did well on your assignment on Sirens and that you read ahead on Banshees, for as you can see we have a guest today…" Francis said, pausing to put the papers on his desk. Jennifer smiled warmly at them. "We're going to be learning a very efficient charm to defend against all sorts of dark creatures that use sound or voice charms as a weapon, and it's called the Sonorous Shield. It actually bends the soundwaves around you to create a sound barrier between you and the subject. It's also quite versatile; those adept at casting the spell can put it around more than one person, or a specific area, and if strong enough can be as solid as a real shield. Care to demonstrate, Professor Craw?"

"Of course, Mr. Pyther, if you'd step over towards the students a moment," Jennifer said, flicking her wand at the class door. The class peered curiously at what looked to be a glass dome surrounding it. Tapping her ears and murmuring a spell to deafen herself, she then turned and cast at the classroom, the students breaking out in exclamations of surprise as a similar wall blanked between them and where Jennifer was standing at the desk.

"As you can hear, it doesn't stop sound from traveling inside the barrier, just through," Francis grinned, and then nodded to Jennifer who pulled out a fussy baby mandrake. But even though it was obviously screaming out furiously, they didn't hear any of it. A moment later, Jennifer replanted the sour root and released the spells, earning a smattering of applause. "Now, although there is a verbal way to cast the spell…which you may have, in fact, covered in Charms last semester…it is much more effective as a defense when it's cast non-verbally, since something as powerful as a Banshee could easily disrupt it. Therefore, we'll be learning how to cast it using only your wand and a few gestures." Several of the students looked at each other dubiously. "Then, after we're sure you got it right, we're going to let you make your own shields to face off with the young mandrake root."

A murmur broke out as they divided the class into two groups as they contemplated what would happen if one of them wasn't able to manifest it, for this sort of spell wasn't normally taught until at least their fifth year, but it helped to have two incredibly patient teachers at their disposal. Still, when Laura finally got hers to work to Professor Craw's satisfaction, it hadn't looked anything like Craw's. It shimmered in the air instead of taking any real solidity, and when Laura touched it out of curiosity, her finger poked through it. Frowning, she pulled it back out to see it filling itself in like a puddle of liquid. Across in Pyther's group, Lindsay had similar results it seemed, as did practically everyone…except Dale Chance. His landed around him impressively solid except for a weak swirl here and there, and Jennifer couldn't help but notice.

"Have you ever cast that before?" she asked, but he shook his head with a grin. "Not many are that natural in harmonics."

"Siren blood on my mother's side of the family," Dale explained, Jennifer looking quite amused at that.

"Well, I guess that explains why you did so well on your Charms test first semester too, then," Jennifer said before concentrating on a couple of students who were having trouble getting their gestures right.

"Are we about ready?" Francis asked a few moments later, and Jennifer nodded despite the class' reluctance to answer. But she smiled encouragingly at the more nervous students as she went back up to the front of the classroom. "Cast your shields now, please!"

Francis cast his, and a great many of the students looked a bit relieved to see his shield looked much like theirs. They stood side-by-side with them up, preparing for any one of them to hit the floor if it failed. But Jennifer simply looked them over before finally lifting up the mandrake, which seemed to cry soundlessly at their efforts. Finally she put it down and gestured it was safe as each student touched their wands to their shields, dispelling them.

"Well done indeed! You see, that wasn't so bad, was it? We'll be practicing it every day for a while so everyone can get better speed at it since in the wrong situation, every second can count. And of course it'll be in the casting part of your final, so make sure you work on it," Francis said and then began passing out handouts for homework. As he finished up and dismissed them, Jennifer checked on the plant to make sure it wasn't too strained for the next class.

"Well, that went well!" Francis declared once they were out of the room, clipping their homework together and putting it away. "At least, better than last week."

"Anything must have been better than last week," Jennifer chuckled.

"I am so glad you talked me into doing the non-verbal version. I just wasn't sure they could handle it yet," Francis said.

"Think of it as giving them a head start into next year," Jennifer grinned. "And it really is a much more useful spell that way…I've used it several times to prevent backlash when I've cast the Shrieking Death spell, when I couldn't have stopped and done a verbal if I had wanted to. But anyhow, I don't suppose you'll have time to get another test painting together for another try?"

"Not tonight!" Francis said in surprise then belatedly turned away, but Jennifer seemed to be fussing with the pot too much too notice.

"No, it doesn't have to be tonight. We still have another class to do, after all, and tomorrow is the start of the tournament. I don't suppose you'd want to help judge?" she asked mischievously.

"Um…no, not really, you know I'm not into that sort of thing and…well, I've made other plans," Francis admitted, not daring to look up.

"Well then, we'll try for Sunday. And don't worry; Severus is going to come monitor this time in case something goes wrong…"

"Are you certain you need me there too, then? I mean to say, if Severus is helping…"

"Severus is the one that asked me to make sure you could make it," Jennifer said, immediately quieting him. "But if something comes up and you can't get it done, just drop me an Owl about it, but I know a lot of anxious paintings that want this solved as soon as possible. Including some of yours."

"Of course, I'm sorry, I'll…I'll have it done in time," Francis said carefully.

"Good," Jennifer said with a smile before putting the plant back on the desk and waving the students in as they began to arrive.

Francis couldn't help but wonder how much Jennifer might have read from him in that moment, but if she had, she gave little indication of it as they went through his second class of the night. Fortunately, Jennifer decided to leave immediately after with the excuse that she had been neglecting some other duties that she had to get caught up on. Relieved to get her out of the room at last, Francis quickly grabbed his folders and hurried into his office, immediately spotting a note made of Witchlock paper waiting on the windowsill. He shut the door and locked it tight before running over to it and opening it, nearly missing his chair as he sat down as eager as he was to read it. He grew more absorbed in every sentence, murmuring softly in attempts to memorize some of it before he finally looked up thoughtfully. Pressing it to his lips, the letter disintegrated and he gazed at his watch, racked with indecision. Finally he tore off his Hogwarts robes and got into his closet for his cloak. Double-checking to make sure he had his wand with him, Pyther changed form and flew out the window, catching the warm wind currents above the lake to head for the Pannage.

He caught a quick flicker of light as he slipped in the back door and cautiously stepped into the room to see Alicia caught mid-step in her pace like a graceful deer upon hearing a noise in the distance. But almost instantly she went over to him as recognition took hold, kissing him lovingly and pulling his hood away.

"Couldn't it have waited but one more day?" he teased her gently.

"And give you another twenty hours or so of finding another excuse not to meet me?" Alicia said dryly. Francis sighed, looking at the ceiling.

"I have not been making any excuses, Alicia. You have no idea just how busy they've been keeping me…"

"Well, tell my father to go jump in the lake," Alicia advised.

"Yes, I'm sure that would go over well," Francis said, shaking his head at her. "And then he'd go tell me to go take a walk in the sunshine and then where would we be?"

"You would be dead and I'd be a permanent resident at Azkaban for murdering my father more than likely," Alicia said. Francis kissed her out of exasperation more than any other reason.

"You would no more kill him than he would kill me," Francis chided her.

"Then why were you so afraid of him for so long?" Alicia challenged.

"Alicia, I did not sneak out of the castle just to get into another argument about your father again! Can't we just…pretend you're not a Snape for one evening?"

"I tried that for eight years," Alicia sighed. "It didn't work."

"No, I suppose not. One can't run from oneself, after all," Francis murmured quietly and then chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Lord knows I've tried, and if I can't accomplish it after this long, it can't be done. Funny how it took me six hundred years to figure that out."

"You sound like it's something you figured out recently," Alicia said.

"Would you believe I figured it out a week ago?" Francis murmured.

"How curious, that's about when I figured it out, too," Alicia said mischievously, kissing him more deeply this time. Francis returned it lovingly, thoughtfully. It was a very different kiss than she had given him before…just as passionate, just as insistent, but something else as well that he couldn't quite identify. But before he could truly encourage it so he could figure out what had changed, there was a brisk knock on the pub-side door and Brogan looked in, glancing between them with a suspicious look on his face despite having a pair of drinks on a tray waiting for them.

"You sure your grandfather knows about this?" he frowned at Alicia.

"If he doesn't, he's the only wizard in Britain who doesn't know about it yet," Alicia snapped irritably. "Have you ever known my grandfather to be the last to know about anything?"

"Good point," Brogan admitted with a shrug, putting their drinks down.

"Besides, if he brings it up, all I'll have to do is mention how he acted when he met Fleur and he'll back off," Alicia pointed out.

"He might," Brogan mused, but gazed at Francis warily. "But if you ask me, there's a big difference between dating a hybrid and dating a dead man." Alicia chuckled softly as the grumpy man slammed the door behind himself.

"Perhaps we ought to meet somewhere else," Francis said, looking nervously towards the door. "Even Culwch was a gentleman compared to him, and I don't think he likes me."

"Of course he likes you, Francis," Alicia tsked, sitting down. "If he didn't, you'd be a much more permanent sort of dead."

"How very reassuring," Francis said, despite the fact he didn't sound very reassured at all when he sat down.

"It's times like this that I really miss the Ninety," Alicia murmured. "I really want to go back."

"I know, but it really is too risky now that the Reverent has claimed that area," Francis said, lowering his voice.

"Nonsense. I have no intention of basing my entire life around where people who want me dead are. I'd have to go to the moon or something and even that might be questionable," Alicia snorted.

"Why is it now that I suspect that whatever you have planned for us tomorrow night it isn't even remotely around here?" Francis chuckled, shaking his head at the grin that crept onto her face.

"Well, there's this wonderful little place on my parents' watches, Francis. It's called, 'Elsewhere.' And the best part is that the farther 'Elsewhere' I go, the less likely it'll be that anyone in my family is going to figure out where 'Elsewhere' is. What's not to like about that?" Alicia asked with a grin before taking a sip of her drink.

"You probably don't want me to answer that," Francis said tasting his on the tip of his finger experimentally to make sure it was his normal brand of blood wine before actually taking a drink. "Since I'd probably go into another round of how much I feel you take your family too much for granted."

"Don't you dare!" Alicia said warningly. But before she could follow it up with an appropriate threat, there was another brisk knock and Brogan poked his head in.

"Your brother is out there scaring away my customers again," Brogan growled in annoyance. Alicia groaned loudly. "I'd tell him you weren't here, but he'd just give me those bug eyes of his and tell me I'm full of it."

"Whatever happened to that sign you put up on the door the other night saying "No Aurors Allowed?" Alicia asked.

"Auror Potter's damn bird took offense to it," Brogan muttered. Francis curbed his overwhelming urge to smile. "And he says if I try to put it up again, he'll have Farynor take out my collection of 1793's. He'd do it too," he added grumpily.

"Fine, fine, let Rel know I'll be out in a minute," Alicia said in resignation, turning back to Francis as Brogan left the room. "See what I mean? Ever since Rel got wind about that bit with Foncé and the wine he hasn't been giving me a second!"

"They simply care about you, Alicia," Francis reminded her, taking her hands and kissing the back of them. "How can I possibly blame them for that?"

"Well, I can. I think I should be entitled to some sort of privacy," Alicia said emphatically. "You are coming tomorrow, aren't you? Without any excuses involving either of my parents?"

"No, that's not until Sunday," Francis said dryly. "I've earned a night's reprieve."

"Well, from them at least," Alicia said flirtatiously as she got up and bent over the table to kiss him, a wicked grin appearing on her face when she paused to gauge his expression.

"That's a new blouse, isn't it?" Francis said after a moment.

"Well, at least you noticed something," Alicia said with exasperation, giving him one last kiss before slipping out the front. Francis stared after her with a frown, feeling more than a little intimidated by the sudden change in her behavior and began to wonder if he hadn't been better off finding some palatable excuse to get out of it after all.

Quickly he returned to the castle and pulled out some fresh canvas for a new test painting, his mind filled first with possible excuses as he discounted each one, knowing there was very little chance that she would buy any of them. Well, perhaps it was time they had had a little talk about that anyhow, he decided as he tried to concentrate on the box Jennifer had been using in the experiment and outlining it on the canvas. But the moment the image had been outlined; his mind began to go over just how he was going to approach it. He let out a long sigh and then happened to notice a wisp of light move behind him, then let out a second one for good measure.

"Good evening, Icarus," Francis said, truly focusing in on the painting for the first time since he had started it.

"Did you finish the other one? I haven't seen you working on it," Icarus inquired, floating rather irritatingly right behind his shoulder.

"As a matter of fact, yes, but I really need to work on this at the moment," Francis said.

"Yes, yes, I suppose," Icarus said. "I'd rather like to see it later."

"It isn't as if I could stop you since you could easily just walk into my closet," Francis pointed out. "You're not going to stay here all night, are you?"

"What else am I to do? Everyone else of any interest to me is asleep, except John, and he's off monkeying around somewhere…working out, I think…"

"You could go work on your upcoming classes or something," Francis sighed.

"You'd be surprised how little changes in Divination. Always the same old methods…the only thing that really changes are the students…they have, you know. Back when I was alive, they were practically considered adults before they got into school, and then somewhere things got turned back from what Nick told me, and now just in time for my return they seem to have started to get all sophisticated again. Rather fascinating watching the changes from generation to generation, really. Don't you think so?"

"I don't know, I try not to think of it. I'd rather live in the moment," Francis said.

"Must be something about being corporeal," Icarus decided. "Or perhaps it's because you're an artist…always attempting to capture the moment so everyone can remember it for generations to come. History in the making, rather noble calling, really, now that I think of it; definitely more productive than prophesying the future, I expect. How many paintings have you done over the years?"

"I haven't the foggiest idea," Francis said, wishing he would go away.

"Well, how many do you sell in a year?" Icarus pressed.

"I don't know…a dozen or two, not counting family portraits," Francis sighed.

"Well, knowing how modest you're are and that you're omitting a great many family portraits, let's go with the higher end for an estimate, let's say twenty five, let's see, times about six hundred, give or take a year…why, Francis, that's about fifteen thousand paintings, and that doesn't even count copies!" Icarus said in amazement.

Growling, Francis went over to the potion shelf and grabbed a glass bottle, and before Icarus could react, Francis threw the bottle down, whipped out his wand and with an eye closed for better aim spelled the annoying spook into the bottle and put a stopper on it.

"Now, if you don't mind, I really need to try to get this done tonight, so why don't you stay in there and contemplate your own existence and leave mine alone!" Francis snapped before turning back to his work and doing everything he could to ignore the occasional shake and rattle coming from the bottle as the night wore on. For the first time that night, he was truly glad to have a reason not to be in the castle the next evening.

Unfortunately for poor Icarus, it wasn't until that following evening that Jennifer had wandered through on her way to the gym to borrow the rolling chalkboard for the tournament. She had paused to glance at the test painting before noticing the tiny bottle on the floor and picked it up, staring at it curiously until it started to move. Realizing what it was, Jennifer uncorked it, letting out the furious ghost.

"After everything I've ever tried to do for that fang-toothed sod! How dare he do that to me!" Icarus growled ferociously.

"Pyther bottled you?" Jennifer said with surprise. "What on earth did you say to him to get him vexed?"

"Me? I didn't say anything! I should have known you wouldn't sympathize with me! I'm the victim here, after all, and dead or not I have some rights! I'm taking this straight to the Headmaster!" Icarus declared, floating through the ceiling. Jennifer let out a helpless sigh, glancing out the door in time to see several curious students hurry on past towards the gym. Deciding it wasn't really her business, Jennifer reluctantly went back to what she was doing.

Severus, who had been going over some of the school policy changes with Minerva, suddenly found himself invaded by Icarus who was in no mood for any sort of proprieties, coming up from the floor.

"Icarus, haven't I told you more than once to use the door when coming into my study?" Severus sighed at him.

"Never mind that! I demand something be done about Francis Pyther at once! I do have some rights, after all, I am a member of this staff, not a problem poltergeist, and I find it quite offensive to be treated like one…"

"Stop, stop, stop!" Severus said with a sigh, putting down his paperwork while Minerva watched the exchange curiously. "Ick, what are you going on about? What about Pyther?"

"He…he bottled me!" Icarus said and began howling in despair. Severus and Minerva blinked at each other and then looked at Icarus again.

"Exactly what did you say to him to cause him to do that?" Severus asked. And he immediately stopped howling and stared at Severus.

"Not you too! I expected that sort of response from Jennifer, granted, but I expected a little more outrage from you from having any member of your staff bottled…"

"I'll be as outraged as you like after I get over the initial shock, Icarus," Severus said, while Minerva failed miserably to hide her amusement. "Francis Pyther is not well known for his ability to initiate…well, anything, frankly…while you, on the other hand, have a vast reputation for pushing people's buttons when it amuses you."

"I was doing nothing of the sort! I was simply complementing him on his work last night, and the next thing I know, he turned around and bottled me!" Icarus snapped. "I've been trapped in there until your wife found me just now!"

"Goodness, you've been in there since last night?" Minerva said, sounding more sympathetic.

"Yes, it does appear that Icarus has a case for me to be properly outraged," Severus frowned, glancing at the portrait on the wall. "Caprica, would you ask Pyther to come up here, please?"

"I don't believe he's in the castle at the moment, Severus, but I'll check," Caprica said with a nod. Severus gazed at her thoughtfully, and then looked at his watch. He then glanced at his appointment book.

"Schedule an appointment with Mr. Pyther at the earliest opportunity," Severus told the book. The book flipped a page, and Severus blinked in surprise when the quill attempted to write on the line closest to sundown on Sunday. "Wait! I don't care how late at night it is, I want the earliest opportunity!" Severus snapped. The quill hovered in air a moment longer, but then proceeded to write on the line it had indicated before, Severus frowning at it in annoyance. "Caprica, alert the paintings and statues nearest the doors and passages. The moment Pyther steps foot in this castle, I want to know about it."

"No problem," Caprica said with a smile.

"Very well, Icarus, as you can see, I'm going to handle it," Severus said.

"No, you aren't!" Icarus blurted out angrily. "You…you're going to forget all about it!" he declared then burst into tears again before floating out the doors. A second later, the doors opened and then slammed themselves.

"Why me," Severus moaned.

"Best man for the job?" Minerva suggested, getting a scowl in response. "Well, I'm sure we can finish this later. Shall I see if Zack Black can tear himself away?"

"Thank you, Minerva. I imagine a castle call would probably do him good right now, come to think of it. He could probably use a break," Severus mused, turning to look at the paper he put down a moment before.

"Probably true. And so could you, come to think of it," Minerva added with a wry grin as she got up. "In fact, I insist."

"Don't you start that drill sergeant routine with me, Minerva. It doesn't work anymore," Severus warned her. "Don't forget, I'm the one in charge now."

"Oh, really?" Minerva said with a thin smile and a sparkle in her eye, a sure sign she was more than up for a challenge. "Schedule the Headmaster off the rest of the evening," she said, the book suddenly flipping back to Saturday and striking a line through the page before he could protest. "Caprica, if anything other than Pyther's arrival comes up, could you please send it to Armando for me? I'll be in my office to send off that note…and to make copies of certain school policies relating to an acting Deputy Headmaster's rights to veto particular actions she deems against the Headmaster's best interests. And, if he isn't out of this office in ten minutes, just let me know. I'll have Doctor Sagittari in here so he can give his opinion of whether or not he needs the night off."

"With pleasure!" Caprica said with enthusiasm, breaking out into a round of laughter at Severus' reaction.

"Why you old…cat!" Severus snapped, Minerva smiling quite primly in response. "I'm sure you never would have treated Dumbledore this way…"

"As a matter of fact I did, and quite often, too. And if you don't step back in line as quickly as he would have, you're going to find out the hard way that I can very well live up to my namesake when required. Have a nice evening, Severus," she added warningly before striding out the door.

"Nine minutes and thirty seconds left," Caprica informed him, and Severus flipped over her painting in annoyance and glared at the back of it menacingly before he finally straightened his desk and went into his sitting room.

As fearful as Francis had been to what Alicia had planned that evening, he was pleasantly surprised to find himself stepping out into the streets of Florence, strangely reminding him of the annoying conversation that he had had with Ick the night before. For a great many of the buildings he remembered from his living years hadn't changed at all; only the people seemed to have changed…. the Academy and the chapels and the monastery they passed through brought back memories several centuries removed, and he found himself telling Alicia stories about his trip with his father that he hadn't even recalled until they had gotten there.

"Do you know, this fountain wasn't even finished before I left," he said with surprise as they walked through the Piazza de la Signoria. He gazed at it with appreciation.

"Did any of your father's paintings in the Louvre come from here?" Alicia asked.

"No, none of the ones you saw," Francis said. "The one of my mother was done in Padua near Venice, and the one of me as a boy was done in Spain, as I recall. When we were here to study I mainly stayed in br…inns, actually. Or in a day room above the workshop…er, the actual one, I mean…"  
"Brinns?" Alicia said mischievously. "You know, if I didn't know better, I could have thought you were going to say something else." Francis cleared his throat.

"Now, Alicia, those were different times and different ideas of morality…actually, why don't we just drop the subject?"

"No, no, I want to hear more about these brinns," Alicia said, wrapping her arm around his insistently. "Did you ever paint any of girls you met in one of these brinns?"

"Where shall we go next?" Francis said, trying to ignore how she was hanging on his arm like that.

"You did, didn't you? Oh, I can't wait to track them down, now…"

"Alicia! Have a heart!" Francis protested pleadingly. "I was young, alive, and reckless, and I'd rather leave my skeletons safely in the closet, thank you."

"So you'd keep things from me?" Alicia challenged him with a disapproving frown.

"I see you've inherited your father's sadistic streak," Francis said dryly, Alicia squinting at him in response. "Where shall we go next?"

"Um, I don't know, but we do have at least another hour to kill," Alicia mused, looking at her watch.

"Kill? You can't be serious, this wasn't your main intention for the night?" Francis asked curiously, and Alicia shook her head with an enigmatic smile. "But it's quite late, practically midnight! Wherever could you have planned us going that late? Dawn's been coming earlier, you know…"

"If you must know, we're going to a different time zone, so I hope you don't mind losing a bit of sleep tomorrow," Alicia said with an enigmatic smile. "But don't worry, you can just hang out in our basement at home when we get back. Alex won't say anything…"

"And just where are we going, might I ask?" Francis said, not liking the look on her face.

"Kentucky!" Alicia declared.

"Kentucky?" Francis stared at her. "Why in the world would you want to take me there?"

"Because trying to get to Zambia was more of a stretch," Alicia explained, leaving Francis even more baffled. "And the nearest paintings in Kentucky were much, much, closer. But that's all the hint you'll get."

"It wasn't much of one," Francis said, gazing at her warily.

"What I'd really like to do though is visit one of the places in your father's paintings in the meantime," Alicia said. "So, what do you think, Venice next?" But a strange look had come across Francis' face, and he gazed at her calculatingly for a long time.

"Actually, I think I have an idea, although…well, it's not a very happy place, and it is related to one of my father's paintings, and…I have a great many dear friends there that I would like you to meet," Francis said.

"Now who's being vague?" Alicia joked, but then nodded. "Shall we find a painting, then?"

"No, perhaps it's better if we Apparated. It should be safe enough," Francis decided, offering his hand.

"All right, but you have to agree not to try and get out of going to Kentucky with me," Alicia said firmly. "You won't regret it."

"I won't try, Alicia, but honestly, sometimes you make it very hard for someone to trust you," Francis admitted.

"I'm a Snape," Alicia said with a grin, and although Francis agreed that did explain a lot, he tried to focus in on the location he had in mind and Apparated, Alicia popping in beside him. She found herself looking at the entrance of a cave, partially boarded up for the winter. The ground around the area had been disturbed, and there was a dirt road with a small shack sitting between the road and the cave.

"Don't worry, we shouldn't be disturbed here in the winter. They only excavate here in the warmer months, not that they'll find much more than they've already uncovered," Francis said, using his wand to shift the boards out of their way. "We're in Germany, by the way."

"What?" Alicia said in surprise, touching her neck to make sure her necklace is on. "Aren't you afraid one of your old clan members will find you?"

"They won't come here," Francis reassured her, leading her inside and calling up a wisp light. "They're much too afraid of them."

"Of who?"

"My friends," Francis said with a smile as they went deeper into the cave, and then suddenly called out in another language.

"Pyver!" rang out from all around her as they entered a large chamber…young voices…children's voices, calling out with obvious affection and some also prattling off other questions, none of which she could understand, although she had some vague idea that Pyther was introducing her. She dug into the potions in her cloak and pulled out a translation potion, taking a quick swig and waiting for it to work.

"They say you have your mother's eyes," Francis said with a smile.

"They've met my mother?" Alicia said with a surprise.

"Yes, they've met both your parents. I brought them here when we were looking for the Forbidden Tomb," Francis explained with a smile. "This is the Chamber of Lost Children, next to the tomb of your late ancestor, Mallus Craw." A chill went through her then as she thought back to the painting of her father's she had seen.

"What did you say to her?" asked a girl's anxious voice.

"I am explaining to her where we are and why you're here, dear heart," Francis reassured her. "Won't you come out to meet her? She won't harm you. She's a very good friend of mine."

"How good of a friend?" a boy's voice rang out mischievously.

"I'm his girlfriend," Alicia said. Francis blinked at her in surprise.

Suddenly a range of exclamations went out from all around and the children of Hamlin materialized, gazing at her with open curiosity and interest. Alicia felt a strong range of emotions then as she looked at the strange, drawn faces. They are all thin, unkempt, some lame or rat bitten and others as if they had been ill for a long time, many clutching other siblings protectively as they gazed at her with hollow, fearful eyes. The most shocking was the boy with a gaping wound in his chest, staring at her with an intense gaze that she had often seen her mother get when she was searching one's mind for answers.

"I thought I was your girlfriend, Pyther," said a young girl of five or six, an obvious look of hurt in her eyes while she clutched her sister's hand.

"You will always my first and bestest girlfriend, Gretta," Pyther assured her with a loving smile.

"Well, I for one am very glad for Mr. Pyther," said one of the older boys, who would have been rather handsome for his age had it not been for a nasty scar on his cheek. "You've been terribly lonely for so long."

"Now, Johan, how could I possibly be lonely when I have all of you looking after me," Francis protested.

"But you haven't been here in quite a while," one of the older girls said, gazing at Alicia nervously. "Was it because of her?"

"I blame only myself for neglecting my visits, Catharina," Francis said gently. "And I am terribly sorry, it won't happen again. So could you possibly consider being her friend too?" The ones who had spoken glanced at each other before they went over to speak the more fearful and anxious of the group, huddling in the back in the chamber as if discussing it. Even the strange boy with the fierce look wandered over after a moment, and Francis looked over at Alicia with a smile. "They're very fearful of strangers, Alicia, but I really think they like you."

"I like them too, although…it's the saddest thing I've ever seen in my life," Alicia murmured.

"Yes," Francis nodded understandingly. "Your mother said something similar. I've tried so hard over the years to try to comfort them enough to get them to ascend, and some are even perhaps ready to let go to the pain they experienced here, but they won't leave the others behind who are not ready. Many are siblings or cousins, and it was a small village; they are all so very close to one another."

"That one boy…was he a Truth Seeker?" Alicia asked.

"You mean Albrecht? Yes, he was, out of necessity," Francis said with a nod.

"What happened to him?"

"He was born deaf," Francis explained, Alicia frowning at him, puzzled. "When Mallus Craw charmed them away, he was simply following his brother. He alone witnessed the death of all the others from the Shrieking Death, for Mallus killed him after they fell. He more than any of the others is too much horror-stricken to ascend." Alicia did what she could to try to shake off the grief, and Francis put a comforting arm around her. "It will be all right, Alicia. No one can hurt them anymore, and sooner or later when all of them realize that, they will move on, I'm certain of that."

"I hope so," Alicia said fervently, and Francis kissed her forehead lovingly. Several of the children turned and frowned at them before turning back around to the others. Finally Johan and Catharina led them all back over.

"We've decided that it's nice to meet you," Johan declared, bowing to her ceremoniously. Francis grinned at her.

"Um. Thank you very much," Alicia said, and then before she knew it, they were all lining up to tell them their names and their younger siblings names, and many even rattling off ages and other things so fast that Alicia's head began to swim. But not long after they had all been formally introduced, Francis bade them farewell with a promise that he would return soon, leading her out of the cave with a steady arm around her shoulder.

"Have you ever painted them?" Alicia wondered after they had walked in silence for a while, but Francis smiled and shook his head.

"I was too afraid it'd draw unwanted attention. A horde of curious Muggle archaeologists they can hide from; a group of eager wizard tourists barging in to see them specifically would be another matter. You saw how long it took them to accept you, and that was on a trustworthy recommendation," Francis said with amusement, but then turned more serious. "I really don't want to risk a public display that would damage the progress I've made over the years trying to get them to move on." Alicia nodded thoughtfully.

"I understand, although, I really would like to sketch them for myself," Alicia admitted as they came out and Francis boarded the entrance back up again. Francis looked thoughtful a moment and then smiled. "Perhaps they wouldn't mind," he decided and she smiled back, wondering why it made her feel so much better about it somehow. "Now, is it late enough to get on with whatever it is you've schemed up for the rest of the night? Or is this a good time for me to find an excuse not to go?"

"Don't you dare!" Alicia laughed. "Any idea where we can find a painting to use?"

"As a matter of fact, I might," Francis said with a smile, walking her back to town.

In less than ten minutes, Francis found himself being pulled into the painting of a majestic falls in what appeared to be a large, wooden lodge. Beneath them he could hear the crackle and spitting of a fireplace, while a large desk on the other side of the room hinted it to be a hotel of some sort. Francis frowned warily.

"Stay alert, I need to time it so nobody sees us come in," Alicia whispered to him, peering out of the frame, not even noticing that Francis was staring at her very hard as if trying to figure out her intentions. Before he was actually ready, he found she was jumping out and pulling him down with him, landing on the couch just below. The girl at the desk looked at the two watching the fire curiously, but then shrugged it off, going back to her work. Alicia waited a moment and then grinned at him.

"Head outside, I'll be right there," she whispered to him, going over to the desk. Francis sighed and did as he was told, pulling his coat tighter to him. It was a very cold, clear evening, and Francis could see a full moon rising over the forest surrounding them. It was a very pleasant place, he admitted, but still could not fathom what had possessed her to bring him there. But finally she came back out with a map and a cylinder in her hand. "Sorry, forgot to bring an electric torch, had to go buy one. The way is supposedly well lit, but I'm not used to hiking in the dark."

"Hiking? We're going hiking? Now?" Francis gaped at her.

"Well, I can't very well take you during the day, can I?" Alicia said with a grin, glancing at the map and the sky. "Come on, let's go."

"I really would like very much to know what you're up to," Francis said insistently as they walked, eying her with open wariness.

"Well, you're just going to have to trust me a little while longer," Alicia said as they followed the road and then cut over to one of the trails.

"Couldn't this have waited until its warmer?"

"It's hardly cold compared to Polaris Town," Alicia pointed out. "Besides, this place is usually booked up in the summer. It's hard to get in even this time of year on the weekends there's a full moon."

"Why, is this a werewolf retreat?" Francis asked, Alicia laughing at him in response. "And what do you mean by 'booked up'?"

"Oh, I rented us a cabin for the evening," Alicia explained. Francis stopped dead in his tracks. After taking a few steps, Alicia looked back at him curiously. "Something wrong?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure, since I don't know exactly what you're up to," Francis said. "But I do think it's about time that you and I had a talk about where this relationship is going."

"Why, is it going somewhere?" Alicia asked coyly.

"Actually, that's rather the point of the whole conversation, Alicia. It can't go anywhere past where we are now," Francis said quietly. Alicia sighed at him.

"Really, Francis, haven't you pointed that out enough already? We're going on a hike in late January, and I wanted a place to go afterwards and warm up. There's no cause for you to getting timid on me," she said.

"I'm not 'getting timid,'" Francis said with a sigh, and then began to follow behind her again. "I was just making sure. I don't see what's wrong with the way things are right now."

"Of course you don't," Alicia said calmly, but in a way that made him wonder again. "Francis, relax and enjoy the walk. I promise you won't be disappointed, because I'm sure this is something you haven't seen in a long time." Francis sighed and followed behind her, listening to the sound of water rushing in the distance. At one point they had to cross over another road and onto another trail which curiously enough was filled with other people, many of them couples, a great deal of them with cameras around their necks, making him even more curious as to why so many people would be hiking at night. "Come on, Francis! We're almost there!" Alicia said, sounding excited now as she walked over to a ledge. Hurriedly he caught up with her and then suddenly found himself staring in awe at the glorious waterfall roaring past the ice, while just beneath it was a soft, prismatic arc of color evident in the moonlight.

"It's a lunar rainbow," Alicia explained with a smile. "A moonbow. Cumberland Falls is one of the best places in the whole world to see it, although it is hard to make out the colors at times…"

"It's amazing, Alicia," Francis protested, wrapping his arms around her as they gazed over at it. "Absolutely lovely."

"Forgive me now for being mysterious?" she murmured after a moment, leaning her head back to look at him.

"Yes, if you'll forgive me for being so suspicious," Francis whispered softly back, and she smiled and kissed him, the two wandering down the trail, stopping every now and again to admire the scenery, the skeleton trees of winter helping to make for a better view. "I can't remember the last time I've seen a rainbow of any sort. We really must come back here again and paint it."

"Yes, we should!" Alicia agreed, sighing contentedly at his enthusiasm. "But perhaps we should go in for awhile, your skin is like ice."

"My skin is always cold, Alicia, you know that," Francis chuckled at her, but felt her hand. "Of course, yours shouldn't be. Perhaps we should go in, at least long enough to warm up. Is it far?"

"Not at all, it's one of the cabins we passed on the way here," Alicia said with a smile, and the two wandered back up the trail.

In no time the two of them found the right one and stepped in, and with a little experimentation and a bit of luck managed to find the light switch.

"Quite nice, although I hope it wasn't expensive," Francis said looking around the cozy cottage with curiosity, staring at some of the gadgets in the kitchenette curiously while Alicia tossed in a bundle of wood that had been dropped off on the porch and got a fire going.

"Not at all, it was quite reasonable! Isn't this place wonderful?"

"The entire evening has been wonderful," Francis said with a smile, walking back over to her. "Alicia, I really do think you've outdone yourself. We've had quite an adventure," he said, kissing her affectionately.

"Well, it is the least I could do after your adventure taking me to Paris," Alicia said softly.

"Oh, no, that was a frightful adventure!" Francis protested with a chuckle. "I should never have let you talk me into getting a drink at the Pale!"

"So the ending was a little rough, perhaps," Alicia grinned, wrapping her arms around him. "But I loved it just the same. I love all the time I spend with you, just as I love you."

"And I love you," Francis said softly back, kissing her again.

But as they kissed, Francis began to quickly notice that curious change in her kiss that he couldn't quite put his finger on before. But it was much stronger now, and even had he not recognized it, he couldn't have missed the intense desire that burned in her eyes when he tried to back away from it.

"Alicia?" he whispered, wondering where his voice was when he needed it.

"Ssh, don't talk," Alicia advised, kissing him again, but when she tugged his jacket off he managed to pull away again.

"Alicia, no," he protested shakily, trying to sound firm as he got kissed again. He decided to change tactics by attempting to peel her hands off from where they were wrapped around him, getting a short sigh in response.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Francis," Alicia murmured.

"There is everything to be afraid of, Alicia, you just don't understand…"

"Francis," Alicia cut him off, putting her hand to his lips. "I know more than you think I do. I know you would have to bite me, and I'm fine with that…"

"No, no, you don't understand at all," Francis protested, putting his arms on her shoulders and feeling a jolt run through them when he realized he was touching bare skin, wondering just when she had managed to take her shirt off. "It doesn't mean anything to vampires, it's…it's just a ruse…a sham…a means to an end to keep the victim preoccupied when they're being drained of blood, and that is all. It wouldn't mean anything…"

"Francis, why do you kiss me?" Alicia sighed, her eyes serious. Francis frowned. "If it doesn't mean anything to you, why do it?"

"It does mean something to me, Alicia…"

"And how is this different?"

"Because this is more…instinctual, and I don't have the same instincts as you do," Francis said quietly.

"No, but you do have them," Alicia whispered. She gazed at him steadily as she gently raised his hand to her lips and kissed it before brushing it against her bare neck, the change in his eyes impossible to miss. "Tell me honestly, Francis, don't you want to bite me?" Francis attempted to answer, but nothing came out, and he instead tried to shake his head and found he couldn't do that either. "I really think this could be mutually beneficial, don't you?"

"I don't want to harm you," Francis said, somehow managing to get his voice above a whisper.

"A bit of lost blood will hardly harm me," Alicia murmured with a smile, shaking her head at him.

"It can easily go too far…"

"Francis, I trust you," Alicia reassured him lovingly, kissing him gently and trying to straighten his frown with her fingers. "But if we want this relationship to last more long term, we're both going to have to learn to give a little."

Francis gazed back at her uncertainly, unable to come up with a suitable argument. As much as he had enjoyed every minute they had spent together over the last few days, he had known just as surely as she did it couldn't last that way. And what was the alternative? Never seeing her again? Having to live century upon century knowing that once he nearly had something that real and he let it slip away? When he didn't respond, her eager kisses returned and Francis felt his willpower wane and falter completely, knowing what awaited him if they continued. Anticipation and desire of his own took over then and found himself doing everything in his power to encourage her attempts to seduce him until it was no longer at all clear who was attempting to seduce whom.

Abruptly the kisses stopped and Francis found himself looking at her with unbridled irritation at that fact, but she simply smiled and walked into the next room, and without prompting he following behind her and quickly descending on where she lay on the bed, quite intentionally laying her head to the side to display her neck. Practically maddened by her boldness, Francis pulled her heart necklace out of his way and began kissing her neck until he suddenly stopped cold as his lips felt her jugular veins pulsing beneath it, and the promise of something exceptional within. It would be warm; bold; sweet; everything that she was and more, there for the taking at her begging, her insistence.

He kissed her again but this time let a fang brush against it, feeling another surge of desire shoot through him as much from her soft moan and her tensing at the anticipation as from the action itself. Never could there have been a more willing victim. Never could there have been a riper moment. In an instant there would be relief. A moment later there would be satisfaction. And just beyond…just beyond by a second…perhaps a minute…perhaps he didn't truly care how long…eternity. Eternity! She would be his and no other, nor would she have a desire to ever stray from him…as willing a servant as she was in that moment and at his beckon call forever more…never aging, never denying any whim. The arguments of the past would fade away, for they would no longer matter; nothing could ever keep them apart again, a stream of endless nights until the end of time…condemned, perhaps, but never ever apart. She was asking for this. Asking for it even now, even if she didn't know it or understand it…her actions were quite plain, and her primal living desires…even her life itself, was quite immaterial. It didn't matter anymore. Her opinion, after all, would soon be quite inconsequential. He knew without the shadow of a doubt that this going to be so much more than a bite. It was going to be a complete drain of her into him, and nothing, nothing at all…not her…not her family…not even her love for him…could possibly stop it now.

Terror suddenly ripped through Francis and he sat up with a scream at what he had been about to do, Alicia sitting up wide-eyed and confused as he clamored out of the bed.

"I can't do it! I can't do any of this anymore! Dear God, what did I almost do? It's just not worth it, nothing is! Nothing!" he shouted at her and pulled on his clothes, running out of the cabin. He felt disoriented about his location, but his desire to get away was so strong that he Apparated, barely able to concentrate on his destination.

It seemed to take forever. In fact, in some ways he hoped he would never arrive at all.

But when he did finally arrive, he was instantly blinded and in terrible pain.

It was much later than he had expected. Sunlight tore through his mottled skin, and for a moment, he fell to his knees, wishing it would just take him. _Wait, they'd never find my ashes here,_ he thought to himself as he glanced around the Dark Forest. _The gates, yes. There would be a good place to die. At least Severus would know who it was…and that it was over at last…_he ran for the gates of Hogwarts, but the pain was horrible, masking even the terrible pain his soul was in at that moment. He got to the gates, knowing he should stay…knowing it was in everyone's best interest…but like the coward he was certain he was, he ran into the castle proper, turning into a bat so none of the students would have to see his burnt appearance as he soared down to the dungeons and into the Memoriatorium. As the door snapped shut, Francis curled up in a corner, overwhelmed by his grief, and praying never to see outside of the crypt again.


	41. A Price for Everything

_A/N ...and everything has its price. Long chapter, but everything fit with the theme so kept it. Anyhow, there's a very short intro for a character that may come up again, so just for my mental ear's sake, Dale's mother's name, Myrine, is three syllables with a long e, (like Hermione.) Happy Reading; three more chapters and an epilogue left after this one. JCWriter  
_

Chapter Forty-One

A Price for Everything

Severus had already gone through a pot of coffee, a piece of toast, and two handfuls of licorice that morning as he geared himself up for going over the auction plans. He was staring at the list of possible attendees and wondering how he was going to possibly keep it civil when Caprica suddenly let out an exclamation of surprise.

"What is it, Caprica?"

"Severus, I'm being told that Francis Pyther just arrived at the castle," Caprica said with a frown. Severus blinked and then turned around to look at the window at the clear, sunny morning and got to his feet, glancing at his watch. At least Alicia's hand didn't say mortal peril. "Something terrible must have happened! I don't know what else that'd explain it…"

"Tell me something I don't already know!" Severus snapped, getting up and grabbing a mirror and a conch shell out of his cloak. "Get a message to Andrew and Jennifer and tell them I'm netting A4 and to come up here for lunch."

"There are no paintings in Jennifer's classroom anymore, Severus…"

"I'll take care of that on the way down then," Severus said, glancing at the school map a moment before staring at the mirror in his hand. "Contact Aurelius," he said, waving the doors open and hurrying down the stairs as Aurelius appeared in the mirror. "Go find Alicia. Get her home if possible, and don't you dare let her leave your sight for a moment. Yes, now! I don't care who is getting away and how long you've been tracking him! If Harry or your Grandfather has a problem with it, tell them to take it up with me! Fine, contact me in the usual way when you've secured that," he said, putting away the mirror and putting the shell next to his ear as the stairs let him off on the second floor.

He waited impatiently and then paused and stared at the conch shell, completely mystified, before finally he heard a familiar voice and put it back to his ear. "It's about time! What the devil was with that message of yours? I can hardly dial any sort of number on a shell," he said, and then rolled his eyes at the answer. "Never mind that. When your sister gets home, make sure you keep her there, and let me know the moment she arrives. I don't care, Owl them you can't make it. Fine…phone them then, but stay put!"

When he got to Jennifer's classroom, he simply stood in the doorway and waited for her to notice him. She looked up in complete surprise and made a move to come over when he held up a hand. She gazed at him searchingly until her face became suddenly lined with concern and worry, the class glancing at each other, wondering what was going on. Finally she nodded and called her class to attention as Severus strode through the corridors as quickly as he could and raced down the back stairs.

He popped open the door of the crypt…perhaps wider than he should have…to see Francis hadn't gotten farther than the first room and was cowering in a corner away from the light and tearlessly crying. As the door swung shut and light began to fade, Francis glanced up and realized who was standing there.

"Kill me now," Francis sobbed. "Please, just do it and get it over with!"

"I don't have to kill you at all. If you really want to die, you can just walk out this door, but don't expect me to stand up for a eulogy," Severus said.

"It would be short in any case," Francis said bitterly. "'A coward to the end,' that's all that would have to be said, and no one would argue the point."

"I wouldn't, but never mind that. Have you given me a reason to want to kill you?" Severus demanded. Francis turned back to the corner and didn't answer right away. "Tell me what happened at once!" he snarled, quickly losing his patience.

"Alicia she…she tried to get too close..." Severus' expression turned to fear.

"What? Did you…"

"No! No," Francis said, choking on his own dry throat and pulling into a tighter ball and hid his face. "I didn't hurt her! I couldn't harm her…" he sobbed. Severus closed his eyes for a moment in relief, trying to regather his thoughts. "I came close…so close…I couldn't help it! Something…something took over and I…but I became afraid…I didn't stop out of my good conscience! I stopped because I got scared and ran off! I'm no better than any other vampire out there. I'm just as driven to blood as the rest of them! I've just been too much of a coward to follow through and also too much of a coward to admit it!"

Severus let out a long, deep sigh and pulled out a folding stool…from where, Francis wasn't quite sure, nor did he really care at the moment, although it was now quite obvious that the Headmaster wasn't planning on going anywhere.

"You know, for some reason the entire situation reminds me of something I've heard one of my Defense teachers say in the past," Severus mused, attempting to get comfortable. "Something about how one should learn to live with one's fears, and not always suppress them, since fear can save a life as surely as it can take it. Sound advice, in some respects. Pity that the instructor who said that doesn't seem to believe it…"

"Stop patronizing me, Severus," Francis snapped.

"Sometimes it's part of the job," Severus shrugged. "Do you want something for those burns?"

"I want only to be put out of my misery," Francis said.

"Yes, well, there's the door. I won't patronize you further by showing you the way out. You know the way," Severus said unconcernedly, fiddling with a hand mirror. "Although I admit it would save me a bit of a headache if you would at least have the decency to write Alicia some sort of explanation before you go, considering I know perfectly well that you must have left her in some sort of compromising position back…where was it exactly you were again?"

"I don't know, Kentucky somewhere…" Francis shrugged.

"And you Apparated back?" Severus inquired. Francis nodded. "You're very lucky you didn't get splinched somewhere then, going over the ocean like that and that distance."

"I don't care."

"Yes, well, that at least, is obvious," Severus agreed, putting away the mirror. "I've known all along your attentions to my daughter were less than honorable. But since you're going to put me in the position of having to replace another instructor, I'll at least have the satisfaction of knowing I won't have to worry about that anymore." Francis finally looked up, staring at him with open disdain. "If you don't want to write her, I suppose I could come up with something to tell her. Perhaps I could tell her you simply lost a duel with a fellow clansman or something, that way she can at least pretend you died bravely. No…perhaps that wouldn't work. She knows how much of a coward you are too…"

Francis turned and launched himself at Severus, but Severus now had his wand in his hand and with a quick flick of the wrist, Francis found himself tripping over his own feet and landing face first on the floor.

"Pyther, if there ever had been a Defense Against Headmasters course, you would have been at the bottom of your class," Severus informed him dryly, watching as the vampire scrambled back to his feet and pointed a wand at him.

"I challenge you do a Wizard's Duel!" Francis declared angrily. Severus simply stared at him.

"You have _got_ to be joking," Severus said.

"I've never been more serious in all my half life," Francis said firmly. Severus folded his left hand over his wand hand, apparently relaxed and unworried. He gazed at Francis speculatively.

"Perhaps now would be a good time to tell you about what that same Defense instructor said about bravado," Severus mused.

"Oh shut up, Severus! If you won't fight me, at least get out and leave me alone!"

"Get out? Whose castle is this again?" Severus asked calmly. "Tell me something, Francis. What bothers you more, that I could snuff you out like a match, or that I don't think you're enough of a threat to bother with it?" Francis growled and began to cast a spell, but Severus had been waiting for him to make a move, instantly bringing his own wand up and knocking Francis' wand out of his hand, snatching it up and putting it in his belt before sitting down again. "Just as well. I have a feeling it would only get you into trouble if I let you keep it," Severus said, sitting back down.

"Stop treating me like a child, Severus!" Francis snapped.

"At the risk of using your own words against you a third time, stop acting like one," Severus retorted. "If you're going to destroy yourself, go do it. Otherwise, I suggest you take the burn balm I offered and get some sleep so we can continue this conversation when you've woken up tonight and are a bit more in control of your senses."

"I am in perfect control of my senses! Just because I'm tired of being a living corpse doesn't mean I know what I'm doing!" Francis shouted.

"Fine, then why don't you please just put yourself to the sun and get it over with?" Severus sighed.

"I tried," Francis murmured, suddenly deflated. "It hurt too badly."

"Yes, well, I suppose I would offer you a blood poison if I could, but Dumbledore saw it fit to add a clause in my contract making me promise not to murder staff members while in my employ," Severus sighed.

"Then I quit," Francis said curtly.

"I'm afraid you can't do that either," Severus said calmly, ignoring the baleful glare he got in response. "Because there's a clause in your contract that says you can't quit unless you give me a six week notice."

"My entire contract was for six weeks!" Francis gaped at him.

"Yes, well, next time you should read the fine print," Severus said with a grim smile. "And I would much appreciate it if you would at least finish that out, unless of course you are so afraid of your existence that it must be now, in which case I could hardly stop you."

"It isn't fear," Francis snapped, walking over to the far wall and sliding down it, closing his eyes a moment. "Well, it isn't just fear," he admitted more quietly. "I'm tired, Severus. Tired of running. Tired of having to rely on charity to survive. Tired of being undead and all the restrictions that come with it. And I'm tired of being at a standstill while all my dearest friends live their lives, grow old and die, leaving me behind to mourn them. Hundreds of them…God knows how many. And believe it or not, I'm even sick to death of painting! So sick of it that I'd just as soon never paint another as long as I exist, no matter how long I'm condemned to it. And now that that one passion in my life has faded…the one thing that kept me going after all these years…the only thing left I find that matters is something I can't have, because I can't give her my life when I don't have any life to give!"

"No, no you can't," Severus said quietly.

"Then tell me, what have I got left to exist for?" Francis challenged him. Severus shrugged.

"You do have a few outstanding obligations," he said.

"If I had died in the Black Forest, I'd have died with obligations. Come to think of it, I'm quite certain practically everyone who has ever lived and died left behind some sort of obligations," Francis retorted. "If I can't give her my life, Severus, at least let me give her my death. With me permanently out of the way, she will have to move on one way or another. She won't do it if I'm here. She's far too stubborn, and no matter what the consequences are to herself, she'd still hang on. You know that as well as I do."

"Yes, I do," Severus agreed.

"Then please, for your daughter's sake and not mine, help me salvage her future at least, because you know as well as I do that there's no future for me," Francis said seriously. Severus gazed at him searchingly. "I'm not afraid to die anymore, Severus."

"Just painfully," Severus said dryly.

"Yes, that I admit I still have a problem with," Francis muttered humbly.

"Very well, Francis," Severus said with a nod, waiting for him to look back up. "I will help you, provided you will agree to my terms on how this is going to be handled. I don't know about you, but I for one would like to minimize the heavy blow this is going to be on my daughter as much as possible, hopefully to the point she doesn't try to follow your lead." Francis suddenly grew extremely alarmed, and it was obvious that the thought had never occurred to him before. "Playing martyr is one thing. Copying Shakespeare is another. You will handle this in the way I want it handled, when I want it handled, and at my direction, or you can handle this on your own," Severus said.

"Agreed," Francis said, nodding slowly.

"In which case, I suppose all that's left is for you to decide if you want to die a coward or not," Severus said evenly. Francis gazed at him in surprise.

"Exactly what do you mean by that?" Francis asked. Severus took out an old tome from his pocket and held it out. Francis got up and took it from him questioningly.

"Read the passage that's book marked. Carefully," Severus advised. Francis opened it up and began to wander back as he read, stopping short and looking around at Severus with surprise. "You had better read all of it," Severus warned him.

"The oldest vampire to survive this had been only turned for two weeks," Francis murmured. "Then there's no chance of me truly coming back…"

"Next to none," Severus agreed with a nod. "It may just as well be nothing more than another method to insure your destruction, except that no one would ever call you a coward for trying it. Alicia most of all."

"Do you know how to do this?" he asked, a spark in his red eyes that hadn't been there before.

"I might have read up on it," Severus admitted. "Of course, if it does fail, I'd assume it'd be a very painful end indeed, Pyther…"

"I don't care," Francis said, realizing in the same instant that he didn't. "I can't do this anymore. I am done with this half-life of mine no matter what happens, and this, at least…perhaps it'd mean something…" he said, more to himself than to Severus before looking up from the book again. "I'll do anything you ask…"

"You will do everything I ask," Severus interrupted firmly. "To the letter and without fail."

"Everything you ask," Francis agreed readily, slowly closing the book and handing it back to him. Severus nodded.

"Then I suggest you get some rest. We still have tests to conduct this evening, and if I'm not mistaken you have classes still to prepare for next week…"

"But what about Alicia?" Francis asked worriedly, fretting. "I…I doubt she even realized what happened, I just…"

"Finally sinking in, is it?" Severus said dryly, getting up and putting away his book and stool. "I put certain things in motion to see to her safety before I ever stepped foot in this crypt, Pyther, she's my daughter, after all. I'm hardly doing this for your benefit," he said bluntly. Francis merely nodded somberly. "I'll arrange for a supervised meeting so you can attempt to explain what happened. For your own safety as well as hers, I don't want the two of you meeting alone," he added, and Francis nodded again. "And for God's sake, Francis, no matter what you do, do not mention what we've been discussing with her. I will not have you worrying her out of wit's end over it or trying to talk you out of it, or you generally torturing her with the facts when she's not prepared to hear them! Don't make things worse than they are."

"Yes, Severus," Francis said. "I understand."

"Good," Severus said, taking Francis' wand back out of his belt and flipping it over to hand back to him. Francis took it sheepishly, feeling foolish for even drawing it. "Good day, Pyther, see you in the evening," he said briskly.

"Thank you sir, good day," Francis said and watched him slip carefully out the door. He was suddenly aware of the exhaustion brought on by his stress and grief as much as the late hour, and Francis found himself quite grateful to make his way into his vault for some rest.

Alicia sat at the table and glared over at Aurelius with her arms folded despite the fact that he was ignoring her attitude completely, eating his dinner calmly. Alexandria came through on her way to the kitchen with a stack of paperwork in her hand, sighing when she saw Alicia.

"You really ought to eat," Alex said as she walked through.

"I'm not hungry," Alicia snapped. "And would you please help me get Aurelius to stop treating me like one of his prisoners? I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Then why are you so defensive?" Aurelius asked.

"Because I'm not a child anymore, Rel, and I should be allowed to go where I want! And here everyone wonders why I never want to visit home, and yet when I get here, this is how I'm treated! I bet it's not even legal. Unlawful imprisonment, that's what it is!" Alicia said.

"No, it's protective custody," Aurelius said evenly, not looking up from his plate.

"You have to have some sort of proof that I'm in any sort of danger for that. I oughtta report you," Alicia snapped.

"Feel free," Aurelius said concernedly, knowing his grandfather would likely side with him. Alicia glowered at him, knowing it as well.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Alicia declared.

"Fine. Alex, could you go with her?" Aurelius asked.

"Sure, Rel," Alex said, putting her coffee down, and Alicia gaped at them in horror.

"I don't need an escort in there!" Alicia protested.

"You should have thought about that when you decided to get artistic with the mirror and soap the last time you went in there," Aurelius pointed out. "I don't want to have to go track you down again. If you need to go, you're gonna have company."

"You beast! You horrible, horrible traitor!" Alicia snapped at him furiously. Aurelius sighed, shook his head, and kept eating. "And here I thought perhaps you actually became an Auror because you wanted to help people, but all you've really turned out to be is the family thug! You haven't changed at all since we were kids! The only thing that's changed is whose boots you've been licking lately, without ever caring who you hurt in the process! You know, there was a time when you used to stick up for me no matter what, and to see you become nothing more than his lackey is absolutely repulsive!"

"You know, those tantrums of yours used to work quite well when you were ten," Aurelius mused. "Now…not so much," he added, unconcernedly reaching for the paper as she sat there seething. "You really ought to eat something before Mercy starts clearing plates."

"Did you need to go, or not?" Alex asked impatiently. When Alicia simply gave her an icy stare, Alex shrugged. "I think I'll go check on the baby then," she said and went into the living room. Alicia had barely started ferociously stabbing at her food again when she heard a knock on the door. "Got it!" Alex shouted, despite the fact that nobody else had bothered to even act as if they were getting up. "Um, guys, you may want to come in here," she said then, her voice strange as the two of them looked up. Alicia saw a flash around her neck, and then peered around to see Andrew standing in his Hogwarts robes next to Alex. A moment later, Harry led Pyther into the front room.

"Francis!" Alicia said, running over to him before anyone could stop her and hugging him tightly. For a moment he clutched her back until he heard someone clearing his throat and looked over to see Harry, shaking his head at him.

"I'm not supposed to let you get that close, Pyther," Harry said quietly. Francis simply nodded and tried to back away, while Harry gently put a hand on Alicia's arm.

"What's going on?" Alicia said with alarm when she saw the expression on Harry's face and looked back over to Francis who seemed somber as well. "Why wouldn't I be able to get close to him?"

"Because I'm being charged with attempted vampirism, Alicia," Francis said evenly. Aurelius suddenly came up and pulled Alicia further back.

"What does that mean?" Alicia asked, frowning and trying to shrug away from Aurelius' grip.

"What it means is that he tried to kill you last night, Alicia," Harry said, Alicia gaping at him.

"What? That's absolute bull! Who did this? It was Father, wasn't it?" Alicia demanded. "Because if it was, I swear…"

"I turned myself in, Alicia," Francis said in a raised voice to counter her yelling, which suddenly died in confusion. "When I got back to the school late, they began to ask questions, and when your mother met me after I woke up tonight, it was made quite obvious to me that I wasn't going to be able to hide the fact that I had attempted it."

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard of, and an it's absolute lie at that! Not only was the whole thing my idea, he ran off before anything happened!" Alicia protested.

"That is because I realized I couldn't finish it," Francis said curtly.

"Alicia, I don't know if you realize this yet, but that necklace Father and Mother gave you does more than just detect vampires, it also prevents them from penetrating your neck," Andrew said. Alicia tore it off, suddenly not wanting to wear it anymore. "And even if it didn't, that potion I gave you the night you were taken by the clan was designed to make the taste of your blood unpalatable to vampires. It's the same one Dumbledore gave Father when they found out he was accompanying Voldemort to the negotiations that night."

"Do you really believe the potion would have really stopped me?" Francis asked quietly. Alicia stared at him, while Andrew simply shrugged.

"Apparently Father didn't trust it, considering the necklace," Andrew said.

"Apparently it's a good thing he didn't," Harry agreed, glancing over at Alicia who was shaking her head.

"This is ridiculous. You can't possibly believe I'd buy any of this for a second," Alicia said.

"He's telling the truth, Alicia," Aurelius said softly.

"Then I don't believe you either," Alicia snapped. "And even if he had gotten carried away, I'm the one who was attempting to get him to open up, not the other way around."

"We already knew you weren't going to cooperate, Alicia," Harry said. "That's why we went with attempted vampirism instead of attempted murder. It's a lesser charge, but it'll be easier to convict, even if it turned into his word against Jennifer's, not that he's denying it."

"All the same, I'd be wary about putting him in the Tower in the meantime," Aurelius suddenly spoke up. "Rafe still has a bone to pick with him since he still hasn't finished the job, you know."

"He's not staying at the Tower," Harry said. "When all this started coming out, Severus filled out statements that this was a personal matter and that Pyther posed no immediate threat to the school or its students. He is taking full responsibility for him until the hearing. Pyther is going to be under house arrest at the castle until then…"

"Wait a minute, what does the board think about all of this?" Alexandria asked, glancing over at Andrew, who shrugged.

"Technically they can't do anything, since he is innocent until proven guilty. They did ask for his suspension, but since Pyther's merely filling in for a few more weeks and his hearing is a month away, Father wouldn't have any of that. Of course, if anything bad does happen, well, let's just say Father's job is on the line with this one," Andrew admitted.

"In fact, we probably shouldn't stay long. I need to help Pyther file some forms and get him back to the castle. The only reason we stopped here at all was as a personal favor, because Severus didn't think Alicia was going to believe any of this unless Pyther told her himself," Harry said, glancing at Alicia who was still eyeing them all warily. "Which, apparently, still didn't work."

"Why else do you think she was so enticing?" Francis said quietly in a tone that Alicia had never heard before. "Ever since she was a child, I could do no wrong. Certainly you didn't think an incident like this when she lured me into it would change her mind."

"Francis, I have no idea what you're playing at, but I know you love me," Alicia said firmly. Francis sighed and rolled his eyes, shaking his head at her with exasperation.

"Well, I do admit I would have loved to have bitten you last night, at least. And whether you choose to believe it or not, Alicia, if I had bitten you, I wouldn't have stopped until you were dead and whatever remained was mine," Francis said bluntly.

"He means what he says," Aurelius said grimly, glancing at Harry. "Are you going to need a licensed Truth Seeker at the hearing?"

"I don't know how it's going to stack with you being related to Alicia, but I'll keep it in mind if we need it," Harry agreed, firmly grabbing a hold of Francis' arm. "Come on, let's get this over with. Why the Headmaster is willing to stick his neck out for you at all is absolutely beyond me at the moment. If it had been my daughter, I would have killed you."

"Jamie wouldn't have been stupid enough to get herself in that position in the first place," Aurelius said. Alicia turned and glared at him furiously.

"You're right, she wouldn't have," Harry nodded grimly. "Especially not for years at a time." Alicia suddenly whipped her head back around, her face turning as white as a sheet as she stared at Harry in disbelief. Hearing it from Aurelius was one thing. But never had Harry ever said an unkind word to her before. Feeling a lump in her throat, Alicia turned and raced up to her room, falling on her bed and hoping that somehow it was all a bad dream. Downstairs, Francis simply closed his eyes, trying to block out his own thoughts.

"I'll talk to her," Alex murmured after the room had been silent for a moment.

"Preferably before she takes off again," Aurelius agreed, taking Janus from her.

"I doubt she will this time," Alex said, nodding to the others before disappearing up the stairs.

"Let's go," Harry said, taking out one of the Ministry keys.

"Coming to the auction, Rel?" Andrew asked.

"I don't know. We'll have to see, won't we?" Aurelius said, jerking his head towards the stairs. Andrew nodded, but as he and Francis reached out for the key, Aurelius suddenly put his hand in front of it, Harry looking at him questioningly. "Sorry…it's just…well, I just wanted to say that I don't think you're a coward, Pyther."

"Thank you, Aurelius," Francis said quietly, managing a weak smile. Aurelius simply nodded with the same serious expression and watched them disappear. Letting out a sigh and glancing at his watch, Aurelius went into the kitchen, unsurprised to find Dodger in the windowsill waiting for the note that Aurelius would inevitably send to the castle.

By the time Harry dropped Francis back off at the school, Jennifer and Severus had already been busy conducting routine tests on Severus' new batch of potions. Francis slipped into the room without a word, watching them silently until Severus' eyes finally darted towards him.

"Good, you're back. We're just about ready," Severus said. Jennifer looked at Francis searchingly until Severus shot her a dirty look and she quickly turned back to her work. "We're going to conduct a couple of control tests first, and then we'll need you."

"What will you need me to do, sir?" Francis asked.

"Caprica and her Hogwarts Irregulars have a theory that paintings that have been made or mended by you are particularly susceptible to this painting contamination. We are here not only to test that but to see if the accident the other day may have inadvertently been caused by you," Severus said, Francis blinking in surprise.

"Me? But why would it have anything to do with me? I wasn't even here when the whole thing started…"

"Yes, well, perhaps this test will tell us whether or not we need to be asking those questions," Severus said, walking over to the test painting. "Ready, Jennifer?"

"Fire away," Jennifer agreed, watching the test box. Carefully Severus put in the test phial and watched it go off, making sure nothing backlashed out of the painting.

"Everything's consistent," Jennifer said after a moment. Severus waited until the last of the smoke cleared the painting then fixed his eyes on the lab until the last of it dissipated.

"Very well, again," Severus said, grabbing another. Neither was surprised to get the same exact results. Afterwards, Jennifer took great pains to make certain the lab was completely clear of any residual. "All right, Pyther, your turn. Gloves off," he added, and Pyther stepped up and took the offered phial from Severus, repeating the test.

"Consistent," Jennifer said. Severus handed Pyther a phial of dust.

"Rub this on your hands then do it again," Severus said, then took out his wand and stood back a bit. Feeling a bit nervous after seeing his caution, Francis did as he was told and put the test phial in place, then took a few quick steps back himself. As the phial went off, Francis soon realized there was a definite change. The smoke from the test phial lingered in the frame a great deal longer, and for a brief instant, he almost thought he saw a wisp of the smoke come out of the painting. He wondered if he imagined it, glancing over at Severus who was squinting at the painting with a frown.

"There was a drop in potency that time, Severus, minimal, but noticeable," Jennifer said.

"Yes, there was a definite change on this end, too," Severus said, gazing at Jennifer thoughtfully. "Shall we try the volunteer?"

"Volunteer?" Francis inquired. Jennifer nodded.

"I'll go get him," Jennifer said, hurrying out the door.

"Pyther, would you get the contaminated painting out of the closet over there?" Severus said, putting on a fresh pair of gloves. "Set it next to this other one." As Francis was setting it up, Severus got out another easel and had it ready when Jennifer walked back in the room with Sir Cadogan.

"Sir Cadogan present and ready to serve, my liege!" the knight declared, saluting Severus by raising his sword.

"You realize, of course, that once this is done we have at present no way of curing you," Severus said solemnly to the painting.

"It will be an honor to sacrifice myself in hopes of saving others of my kind, sir," Cadogan said proudly. Severus went over to the tray with the potions, picking out a different one.

"This one has a two minute time delay, hopefully that will be sufficient," Severus explained to Pyther, loosening the lid before handing it to him. Pyther nodded and put it in the box. "Very well, Sir Cadogan, move into the next painting and see if you can't pick up that phial and take it into the clouded one beside it."

"With pleasure, sir!" Cadogan said enthusiastically and walked into the next painting. Carefully taking off a glove and picking up the phial, Cadogan then straightened his shoulders and boldly stepped out of view.

"Was he able to pick it up?" Jennifer asked curiously, looking around.

"Yes," Severus said and then put his arm out, forcing Pyther to back up as he did. "Get ready for anything, Jennifer!"

Jennifer had just enough time to get her wand and turn around when suddenly the clouded painting began to shift erratically in color, the mist beginning to seep out in rolling waves. Suddenly, Severus brought up both his wand and his other hand, chanting in a language that Francis had never heard before and yet at the same time seemed chillingly familiar. He watched in amazement as a strange blue shimmer began to encase the painting and the cloud surrounding it, holding it momentarily suspended.

"Get outside the door, Pyther!" Jennifer ordered as she flung open all the windows, glancing at her equipment before hurrying out after him. Slowly, Severus began to back away from it and then dove for the door, casting one last spell before shutting it.

Jennifer heard a strange poof sound just as he shut the door, then noticed as they got their breath that a thick white substance was seeping through the bottom and the cracks around the door. Jennifer stared at it blankly a moment before staring at her husband accusingly.

"You are going to clean that up, right?" Jennifer said, obviously unimpressed with his choice of spell.

"What is that?" Francis asked curiously.

"Marshmallow crème," Severus said tiredly, leaning on the wall. "Easy to cast even when you're drained and wonderful insulation. Bit flammable though…"

"Don't ask him how he found that one out," Jennifer said dryly as she went over to her husband. "You all right, Severus? I thought you told me you had better control over that suspension spell," she teased.

"You shouldn't criticize spells that you yourself wouldn't cast," he chided her lightly, but stood. "There was something other than the spell itself pulling against me at that moment. Nothing too overpowering, but present, nonetheless."

"It must have been whatever it was that drained me during that first accident," Jennifer said.

"Yes, isn't that interesting," Severus said, gazing at Francis, who had been listening intently. "So, now that we know that you are definitely some sort of catalyst in this mix, we need to work on those questions of yours, Francis. Meanwhile, I believe you know what you need to do, Jennifer."

"Absolutely!" Jennifer said with apparent enthusiasm. "I need to cut your hair, Pyther."

"I beg your pardon?" Francis blinked at her.

"Also nail clippings and a skin sample wouldn't hurt," Jennifer added thoughtfully. "Let's go get a needle, too."

"But what for?" Francis asked anxiously, protesting as she grabbed his elbow and they started leading him to the medical ward.

"Because, Pyther, even if you don't prove to be the cause of whatever is happening, now that we know you are a catalyst, I should be able to find a chemical way of nullifying your part in this equation. In other words, develop a sort of inoculation that protects the paintings against coming in contact with you," Jennifer explained.

"You know, over the years there have been a lot of people who've treated me like a disease," Francis said somberly. "Rather disheartening to find out after all this time I am one."

"Only partially," Severus said evenly. "And even though we're one step closer to solving this problem, we are still missing a large portion of the formula; what it was that started this in the first place."

But Severus knew even as he took that evening to play the violin and ponder the problem that his attentions would quickly be split by the impending approach of the auction. Once again, it was Minerva who rose to the occasion, although she did quickly 'volunteer' herself a bit of help.

Boulderdash had been using his lunch for a student conference with Helena, so was more than a little annoyed to be interrupted by a series of knocks at his door. When he opened it to find Minerva and Jennifer standing there with pleading grins on their faces, he knew immediately he was in trouble.

"Whatever it is, the answer is no," Boulderdash said flatly. "And I'm busy," he added, jerking a thumb behind his shoulder where Helena was leaning in her chair to see who was at the door.

"It will only take a moment, Boulderdash," Minerva assured him with a thin smile. "Don't worry, we'll make our case as quickly and as painlessly as possible."

"We simply wanted to get your advice on the auction, Boulderdash," Jennifer said. Boulderdash squinted. "Because we're having trouble finding an auctioneer we can both trust and afford."

"And since I'm the only goblin on staff, you've decided to come to me and try and talk me into finding one for you," Boulderdash said with a half snarl, half sneer.

"Nothing so difficult as that, Boulderdash, I assure you," Minerva said with a smile. "We simply want to know if you might be willing to run it."

Boulderdash stared at them a moment before attempting to shut the door in their faces, the two of them holding it back in protest.

"Boulderdash, please! Just give us five minutes to explain!" Jennifer protested.

"Yes, I agree, you can at least hear us out, after all it is for the school," Minerva said.

"I'm sure the school can find someone else," Boulderdash said firmly.

"But we've already gone over budget just putting this thing together!" Jennifer protested.

"Not my problem. Your problem," he said, pointing to the two of them, his finger stopping at Jennifer. "And I very distinctly remember telling you that I would not help you with the budget again."

"Oh he did, did he?" Minerva said, a sudden flash in her eyes as she realized why the numbers had been so straight despite the chaos when she had arrived. "Well! I suppose then we'll have to just deal with it," she said, Jennifer doing a double take at that. "I suppose I'll have to run the auction myself, although I'm hardly an expert. So I'm afraid you'll have to keep track of the funds and books for me, Jennifer," she said, turning away from the door.

"Oh! Sure, I guess…" Jennifer said reluctantly, turning to follow.

"Wait!" Boulderdash growled, Minerva throwing Jennifer an enigmatic smile before turning. "Fine, we can talk about it," he said irritably. "At least long enough for me to convince you not to let her at those books again. Excuse me for just a moment," he said. Jennifer blushed furiously at that as he went back inside, but Minerva was too busy looking triumphant to truly notice, knowing full well that Boulderdash was going to give in. "Helena, can we continue this conversation in just a few minutes? Professor Craw and Madame McGonagall just came to me about something that apparently can't wait."

"Sure," Helena sighed, picking up her books. "I'll go wait in the storeroom."

Helena slipped inside to see Dale Chance sitting at the far end with his nose buried in one of his books and a scrap piece of paper at his side.

"Still here?" Helena said curiously sitting down.

"Oh, yeah, hi. Free period, so I'm trying to study for my Arithmantics exam. Lucky isn't easy to keep up with," he chuckled.

"I don't think I'll ever understand why you even try," Helena admitted, glancing over the book she brought. "But she can be really nice when she wants to be. She just has this wall thing…"

"Tell me something I don't already know," he smiled at her. "What are you doing here so late, anyhow?"

"Oh, I was talking to Boulderdash and we got interrupted," Helena admitted, looking glum.

"Why, is there something wrong?" Dale asked. Helena hesitated. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Actually, it would be nice if someone knew what was going on," Helena admitted. "Look, if I tell you about something, would you promise not to bring it up to the others?"

"Sure, if you don't want me to," Dale agreed, marking his place with his practice paper before gesturing at the seat next to him. Helena moved to the chair beside him.

"It's about my house…Slytherin, I mean. Well, it's about both, really," she admitted. Dale gazed at her patiently. "I suppose you know already about Slytherin being in dire straights this year points wise."

"Sure, everyone does," Dale nodded. "A lot of thanks to Don's big mouth from what I hear."

"Yes, I'm sure everyone's heard," Helena said with a nod. "And in a lot of ways that's what started all this. I'm not really supposed to speak about Slytherin business outside of the houserooms, but the fact of the matter is that Don's personal totals are in the negative and, well, he's my year's Tie-breaker."

"So he basically does what you do for us," Dale said, nodding.

"Well, he's supposed to, yes, but…well, he's not doing anything but giving our prefect a headache. In fact they're planning on replacing him at the end of the year, and the reason I know about it is that Schroeder wants me to be his replacement," Helena explained.

"But that's good news, isn't it?" Dale asked with a smile. "It means you'll finally be accepted in the house, Weasley or no Weasley, right? Besides, he picked you for good reason, since I know from this house you're points have been great this year."

"Yes, he noticed that, and that I keep track of mine," Helena said with a sigh. "But the problem is, if I accept the position, I can't really be in the Fifth House anymore. I'd have to set a good example; stick with the Slytherin teams when they play or root for whichever team is doing better than they are in competitions to lose, and overall give them a lot more attention than I have been this year."

"Your friends would understand, Lena," Dale said with a smile. "I know I understand. And personally, I think you should go for it."

"But that's just the thing," Helena said, troubled. "I do want to take the position and all but…I love this house too and everything about it. I've never had a group of friends anything like you guys before, and I'm not sure I how I'd handle not being able to hang out in here all the time or not do any of the other things we do together. I can't be loyal to both, but having to choose is just more than I can bear at the moment."

"I don't know that it's really a question of loyalty, Lena. It's just choosing whatever path is best for you," Dale said.

"Boulderdash said something like that too," Helena said with a sigh. "If it were my decision, I'd choose both. But since I can't do both, I really don't know what to do."

"Well, no matter what you pick, just know we're still going to be your friends, Lena," Dale said firmly.

"Thanks, Dale," Helena said with a smile, turning to flip through her books again. But it wasn't long before Boulderdash flung open the door, looking quite irritable.

"Come, Lena, let's finish our talk. After that, I'm afraid the House is going to see rather little of me in the next week. It seems I have an auction to run," Boulderdash said, rolling his beady eyes in sheer disgust. Dale and Helena exchanged grins before Helena gathered up her books and went back into the librarian's office.

Dinner had been served an hour early the night of the auction, and all the students had been sent to their rooms for the evening and were told on pain-of-death-and-detention was no one to leave them. To make certain of it, the auction had been scheduled on a Thursday night with every teacher planning tests the next day. Zacchius had been brought in to prevent certain incorrigible ghosts from creating incidents, and every painting on the main floor had been moved into other quarters for the evening, well out of the range of the handful of paintings that would be auctioned that night.

Practically anyone who was everyone was expected to attend, and many of those who couldn't make it had signed up as anonymous bidders. They took the form of large grey hands that floated along the back wall with chains around each wrist with pendants that displayed calling numbers. It was a system that Gringotts often used, so with a bit of bribery and finagling with his brother, Boulderdash was able to arrange it; although he had warned confidentially to Severus at one point that some of the anonymous bidders were probably not ones that he would have allowed in the school in person. Still, more bidders meant more likelihood they would come out ahead. With any luck, they might not only raise enough to get it finished but get some of their personal loan back, Jennifer thought dryly to herself as she stood in the doorway, gazing at the grey hands above her.

"What's wrong, Jen-girl, someone forget to paint the ceilings?" Jennifer blinked and looked down with an apologetic smile as her father, Brogan and Stock walked in together. But Thomas missed the intended apology; too busy looking up to see what had gotten Jennifer's attention. "Oh no, not those damned things," Thomas scowled disapprovingly. "What were you thinking letting anonymous bidders in? Ten galleons says one of them is the head of some vague back office of Longbottom's."

"Nelson's too, no doubt," Brogan grunted with the same look of disapproval.

"I wouldn't know. We're not told who's who, that's why they're called anonymous bidders, Dad," Jennifer said dryly.

"I'm sure you'll regret that if something questionable comes up for bid," Thomas said, and then glanced around the room. "Draco here yet?"

"I think Severus just left to argue with him on whether he's allowed to bring his personal guards in the castle or not," Jennifer said.

"Knowing Severus, my guess would be not," Thomas mused.

"I think that'd be a good guess," Jennifer admitted with amusement.

"Then I suppose we should save him a seat," Thomas decided, and the three of them wandered into the Great Hall to try and get seats close to the front.

As Jennifer turned back around, she saw a tall woman with long, dark brown hair, and a single strand of red running down the side of her face. Although she had never met her, her features seemed quite familiar, and it only took a glance at her face to place it. Jennifer smiled warmly at her.

"Hello, I'm Jennifer Craw Snape," she said. "You are Dale's mother?"

"My name is Myrine Mohanan," the woman said with a nod and a serious but sincere smile. "And Mrs. Chance, on occasion, depending on whose business time I'm on."

"I know exactly what you mean," Jennifer chuckled.

"I thought you might," Myrine said, her smiling widening ever so slightly. "I've heard a great deal about your daughter…not as much as I would like to have heard about you…" she admitted, "but Lucky I've heard a lot about." Jennifer couldn't help but chuckle and nod.

"Yes, I imagine, I know Dale's had a crush on her for almost a year now," Jennifer said with a smile. "I'm afraid it's not being reciprocated at the moment."

"Good, it'll keep them both out of trouble for awhile," Myrine said with a wink. "To be honest, with his group's new album coming out, I'm hoping it'll help him keep his feet on the ground. He's spent his young life in and out of the spotlight, no thanks to his father and my influences, I'm afraid. But Hogwarts has been good for him. I was hoping it might be. I graduated from here myself."

"Yes, Severus mentioned it," Jennifer smiled. "You were a Ravenclaw as well?"

"Yes, although I admit I was probably more than a bit hard to handle as a teen," she mused.

"Yes, he mentioned that too," Jennifer admitted, and Myrine grinned.

"I bet he did! Which is one of the reasons I'd rather hear more about you! I'd never thought Snape would ever be the marrying type," Myrine said, Jennifer grinning in response. "Of course, at the time I graduated, I was convinced I wasn't the marrying type either. I wanted to be a career woman and didn't have time for such nonsense. And then when I heard Snape got married, I found myself thinking…uh oh, I'm in trouble." The two of them broke out into laughter then, several of the people sitting down looking at them curiously.

"There is nothing wrong with having both a career and family," Jennifer said emphatically when they both recovered.

"Yeah, I like having both too," Myrine agreed. "Lunch sometime?"

"What a great idea, we should," Jennifer said with a smile, then found herself chuckling again before she turned to greet the next guest. A great many ex-students and a great many friends old and new had come that night, and for once Jennifer didn't mind playing door duty. But when she turned to see Alex and Alicia standing there the smile faded somewhat. She quickly recovered, greeting them questioningly.

"I thought you were going to both stay home with Aurelius?" Jennifer asked.

"I donated a painting to the auction, Mother. I have just as much of a right to be here as anyone else," Alicia said defiantly.

"Well, yes but…oh, have a good time, I suppose," Jennifer said, trying to hide her worry as they went to find some seats.

But as Alex was leading them to a pair of aisle seats just behind where a group of Goblin merchants were sitting, Alicia suddenly excused herself and strode across the aisle to where her grandfather was sitting with Brogan on one side and Stock on the other.

"Good evening, Alicia," Thomas said with a nod.

"Did you really put a warrant out on Pyther?" Alicia said point blank.

"Now, Alicia, you know very well I'm not allowed to discuss individual cases before a hearing," Thomas frowned at her, and then turned to Brogan. "She really does look like her grandmother, doesn't she?"

"So you are saying there is a case?" Alicia pressed.

"Of course there's a case! Did you really think I would allow someone to try and kill my granddaughter and get away with it? What, did you think Harry would lie to you about something like that?" Thomas eyed her dubiously.

"To protect me, yes, he might," Alicia said with a nod.

"No, protecting you involves either putting that thing in Azkaban or putting a stake through its heart," Thomas said bluntly. "I'm sorry you got attached to it, Alicia, although it's your parents' faults for letting it teach you when you were little as much as anyone else's fault. But it's still a vampire."

"No," Alicia said angrily. "Francis was different. He was a lot more than just a vampire, and if he did change at all, it's my fault. I know who's to blame." She stormed back over to her seat and Stock and Brogan watched her curiously, while Thomas looked straight ahead.

"I still can't believe he'd do something like that," Stock murmured, shaking his head. "And I feel sorry for Alicia. She's been in love with him as long as I've known her."

"Everyone should have known it'd turn bad. There's no such thing as a good vampire," Brogan said.

"There's no such thing as a good Craw, either, but somehow we keep getting entangled with one person or another," Thomas murmured in response. "You can't always help who you fall in love with."

"I suppose you'd know," Brogan retorted.

"Even I couldn't argue that point," Thomas said, and then dropped the subject, turning to Stock to ask him about the mine.

When Severus came in with Draco and Danny a few moments later, Jennifer murmured to Severus quietly before Severus walked Draco over to where Thomas was, glancing across the aisle at his two daughters as they got settled. He then glanced over at the front row of goblins before shaking his head slightly and walking back over to Jennifer.

"Would you mind terribly if I put Carnegie next to you this evening? Things being how they are, I'd rather keep Pyther close at hand," Severus murmured to her.

"I'd rather you did that anyhow, Severus," Jennifer admitted. "Norman Balmweed arrived a few minutes ago trying to get me to talk about it, and the Coventrys just got here, too," she said, looking irritably towards where they were sitting beside Norman.

"Erik?"

"I believe he sent Minerva regrets that he couldn't make it. Probably has a hand going, though," Jennifer said, nodding up towards the anonymous bidders.

"Yes, and who knows who else. Anyhow, I'm going to go get Pyther. As soon as John gets here, go ahead and seat yourselves in the staff section," Severus said. Jennifer nodded as he slipped off, and just as the last of the guests began to filter in, the caretaker peered around the corner wearing black from head to toe, making his pale, freckled Irish skin face stand out all the more.

"I don't suppose the wolves are disarmed for the evening?" John asked, glancing over at the front row. "Did you frisk them?"

"John, they're not here to cause trouble, they came to be generous," Jennifer chuckled.

"There is no such a thing as a generous goblin, Professor Craw," John said fervently. "Even the Dash brothers have a bit of larceny in them."

"Come on, John, let's sit down," Jennifer said with a smile. "They're hardly going to make any moves while in this castle."

But Jennifer didn't miss the fact that as the two of them walked down the aisle, first one and then another and then every goblin in the merchant section turned around to glare fiercely at John as they took their seats. John suddenly grinned in response and waved almost flirtatiously at them until Jennifer nudged him in the ribs and he settled down.

It was then that Harry, Ginny, Cedric and Jamie came in, sitting just behind Jennifer by the staff section with Ron, Anna and Sirius coming in to take seats beside them. Jennifer had just turned around to chat with them when she felt a tension in the room, and she looked back around to see Severus coming in the back door with a hand on Pyther's arm, Boulderdash following behind and walking over to the podium.

Just before they went through the aisles, Thomas got up and strode over to where Alicia and Alex were and stood facing the aisle and intentionally blocking off any chance of contact between the two. Severus ignored the exchange completely and kept walking, while Francis glanced forlornly back until Severus said something that caused him to whip his head back around.

"I know this situation is hardly comfortable for anyone here," Jennifer heard Severus say as he showed Pyther to his seat. "But let's at least try to get through this as painlessly as possible. That includes you, by the way," he added, his eyes darting towards John.

"St. Peter himself would mistake me for an angel this evening," John promised.

"I highly doubt that," Severus said, then strode back up front to take the podium.

"Before we begin, I would like to thank everyone for coming, as well as for the generous contributions for this auction. And although I really don't know many particulars about any of the items other than what was previously announced in your invitations, I have been told that quite a few of them are unique and exceptional, so hopefully this will be worth everyone's while. If all goes well, we will have the new laboratory completed by the beginning of next school year. At which time, we will hold a dinner fundraiser which will include an opportunity to take a tour of the school and the new potions laboratory, and it will be used to fund any last minute expenses that will assuredly come up over the summer. Without further delay, I turn the floor over now to our own librarian, Boulderdash son of Coldsprinter, who will be our auctioneer for the evening," Severus said, a round of polite applause breaking out as Severus quickly slipped back to his seat between Jennifer and Pyther.

Jennifer was quite glad they were a little further back and close to the aisle, for she found she could see a lot from there, although, she admitted to herself, it would have been a lot more entertaining to have watched it from Boulderdash's perspective so she could see what people were thinking about as they bid. One of the first things that came up was one of Pyther's paintings of Magellan penguins, and no one could fail to miss the hesitant bids when it first came up, especially not Francis himself. But then one of the goblins decided it might make a good investment considering the current scandal would surely keep the price reasonable, and Abraxus too put a bid in despite Regina's hisses, for he very much liked Pyther's work, scandal or not. But soon, even he bowed out, and the goblin grinned toothily at his bargain. Jennifer, not really knowing that much about art, had thought it went for a very nice price, but when she glanced over at Francis she saw an unmistakable look of pain and an off color to his cheeks, not to mention the noticeable grimace on Alicia's face across the way. If Francis hadn't known he was done before, he knew he was done painting then; and was quite glad he had found the time to touch up the Lupin portrait and send it off before the auction started.

"And now, for the first of several pieces from the renowned Tassels and Panning, we have a black diamond necklace pendant in the shape of a fruit bat holding a lovely clump of cat's eye agate berries, charmed to help one see in the dark," Boulderdash announced. Jennifer's jaw dropped a moment, and then she looked up at the ceiling, while Sirius began snickering behind them.

"Now, I wonder who they had in mind when they designed that?" Sirius said casually.

"I have no idea, does anyone else?" Harry said dryly, his whole row shaking their heads. But they all began to chuckle when Severus was the first one to put in a bid. Thomas put in a bid as well until he realized who he was bidding against; and a pair of the anonymous hands had also put in bids until finally they too dropped out. Severus glanced at Boulderdash and gestured for him to set it on one of the empty tables behind him so he could pick it up later.

It was at about that point that Jennifer realized they were in trouble. For every time anything came up from Tassels and Panning, it ended up on that table, as did both the dress Ashley designed and the gift certificate to her shop. Jennifer began to wonder if it actually occurred to Severus how much he was spending.

"And now, the last item from the generous donation of Tassels and Panning," Boulderdash said, nodding to the twin brothers who grinned toothily at him. "This ornate jewelry armoire!"

"Oh no," Jennifer said, covering her face rather than look at the mahogany cabinet.

"Charmed not only to prevent tarnish, but also to preserve the charms placed on the items, and contains many compartments with magic dampening to prevent charmed items of opposing spells to interact with each other," Boulderdash continued, the row behind Jennifer breaking into a chuckle again. Severus put up his hand, and Jennifer grabbed onto his arm.

"Severus, no," Jennifer protested.

"Jennifer, you need a new jewelry box. You've needed one since before Christmas," he murmured back.

"We can get a more reasonable one somewhere else, Severus…"

"Yes, but not the same quality," he said, putting up his hand again. Jennifer rolled her eyes.

"Sirius, don't you dare bid on that again," Anna hissed at him.

"Why not? You could use a new jewelry box too," Sirius said evenly back, putting up his hand, looking amused when Severus immediately countered it.

"Severus, honestly," Jennifer whispered to him with exasperation. "Part of the point of this was to pay back some of our own loan to the school. At the rate you're going, you'll have spent more than that on items."

"It is the last Tassels and Panning item, Jennifer," Severus said, nodding when Anna finally won her argument with Sirius and the armoire got set on Severus' table. "There, I won't buy another thing," he said evenly, ignoring the dubious look that his wife was giving him.

"Now, I have one more thing of a jewelry nature of quite extraordinary rarity," Boulderdash said enigmatically, and Jennifer immediately grew worried. "For your inspection, gentlewizards and witches, this lovely shard of diamond, which is, as you can see plainly, quite immense for a diamond of such quality," he said. Jennifer stared at the shard at least three inches tall, easily seen even from where they were sitting; polished and partially cut on one side while the other looked unintentionally cut…shattered, Jennifer realized, and she began gaping as she realized exactly what it was. "It is, in actuality, simply a large broken piece of a diamond the size of a dragon's heart, and I'm told by the donor it is the largest portion still left in tact." A large murmur broke out through the crowd.

"Toby," Severus murmured, knowing full well that no one else could possibly have donated it. "I'll have to take that promise back, Jennifer." Jennifer let out a long sigh. So much for coming out ahead. "What is going on up there?" Severus asked Andrew, who was in the row ahead of them.

"I think Tassels and Panning want further authentication," Andrew explained. "The bank simply appraised it as a diamond, not its origin. Perhaps one of you should go up, since you have rings?" Severus' grimace plainly showed what he thought of the idea.

"Sir, if I may?" Francis said suddenly, pulling the worry stone out of his pocket. In fact, he had been rubbing it distractedly since they had come in.

"Fine, but have the sense to keep it in your pocket until you get all the way up there," Severus snapped. Francis nodded in understanding and slipped towards the front, while the rest of the bidders began chattering to one another casually while they waited for the matter to be cleared up.

Alicia was too busy watching to see what Francis was doing to really listen much to Alex's prattle towards either her or Mandria, who was sitting beside them. His back was to her for most of the time; but as the group broke up and he turned away, she saw him put the worry stone deep into his pocket and realized what was going on. But how in the world…Corey must have, Alicia knew, feeling quite strange as she remembered what had inspired her to give it to him in the first place.

"Alicia, I swear, you haven't heard a thing I've said!" Alex accused her in annoyance. But Alicia was too busy watching Francis walk up the aisle, staying as far away from her side as possible. His hand was still deep in his pocket, and he unmistakably picked up the pace when he got near Alicia's row. Did that mean what she thought it meant? Would he have had any reason to worry otherwise, let alone any reason to keep it if it didn't glow? "Alicia!" Alex said again, and she snapped to attention. "Sorry, Mandria, she's been like this for weeks now, really. She never finishes a conversation."

"Why would I need to, Alex, when you often carry both halves of it yourself," Alicia retorted. Mandria smirked, but quickly hid it when her friend looked her way.

"Very well! I believe everyone is now satisfied that the diamond is an authentic Dragonheart Diamond shard," Boulderdash said with a sneer that betrayed his momentary exasperation over them even questioning it. "Shall we start at, oh, one hundred galleons?"

Tassels and Severus both raised their hands at once, followed closely behind by Cedric Potter, the only other gem cutter in the room, although he immediately look worried as the price began to skyrocket, for an anonymous bidder was bidding as well.

"Severus," Jennifer whispered in his ear. "Don't you think it's quite a gamble to even consider getting that now? I mean, you know the chance of…"

"Chance is the word, Jennifer. I have another daughter that might like one someday," Severus said.

"Severus, not only are you a closet romantic, but you are going to be a very broke one if you don't let this go," Jennifer hissed after he raised his hand again. "There is no way we have anything near what Tassels and Panning can offer for it. Just buy what you need from them later."

"Dad, please?" Cedric begged behind them. "Mary and I aren't going to get this business off the ground unless we can somehow convince the Tassels and Panning customers to at least look around. This would at least give people a reason to come in."

"Fine, I'll loan you a thousand," Harry sighed, and delightedly Cedric raised his hand again. Apparently, things had gotten too rich for the anonymous bidder, who had gone silent. A moment later, Cedric found himself turning to his other side to talk Sirius out of money as well before raising his hand again. Even Severus was beginning to hesitate, quite aware of the piercing, pleading gaze Jennifer was giving him, and bidding began to slow as they all began to add bids at the very last minute. But Cedric had also noticed Severus' hesitation, and then making up his mind got up and crouched behind his chair.

"Professor, if I promised you the first set of rings would you help me cover?" he whispered pleadingly. Severus looked over at Jennifer.

"That we should be able to afford," Jennifer said, knowing it wouldn't be long before someone would give. Cedric quickly placing another bid just before Boulderdash called it done, despite the fact he didn't have the money to cover it.

"The first set and the option to buy a second at cost," Severus murmured in his ear so low that Cedric barely heard it.

"Deal!" Cedric said.

"Fine, consider yourself covered," Severus said, and Cedric quickly bid again. The room had gone silent as the two jewelers went at it, the brothers often stopping to discuss it before bidding. But at last the two brothers shrugged and shook their heads, and a loud round of applause went up and several hugs along Cedric's row when Cedric won the bid.

"Hey, what are we happy about, you realize how much money this kid of yours owes us now?" Sirius chuckled.

"You could count it as a business loss," Harry grinned at him.

"I will pay you all back…eventually…" Cedric protested. Severus and Jennifer, who had heard that one too many times from their own children, exchanged knowing looks.

"And now, for a bit of a break from the insanity," Boulderdash said with a sneer. "I have a simple but tastefully framed photo, donated and I believe taken by our own Professor Tonks."

"Where is Tonks, anyhow?" Jennifer whispered, suddenly realizing she hadn't seen much of her lately. Severus simply shrugged and nodded up to the picture, which Jennifer suddenly viewed with keen interest, for it was a large color photo of Alastor Moody and Audacious Belle, posing in front of their old retreat…or rather, partially posing, and partially attempting to defend against each other's attempts at bunny ears and other methods of ruining the photo. "Oh, Severus," Jennifer murmured. Deciding that counted as an approval, Severus put in a bid, followed by Harry, Alex, Thomas, and one of the anonymous hands.

Boulderdash, who had started out with a very modest bid for the simple photo was quite surprised when nobody seemed to interested in dropping out when the price began to get a little ridiculous. What should have been a simple galleon or two suddenly went past five and then ten, but at twenty, Harry finally had a revelation.

"Hang on, just hang on one second!" Harry said, a murmur breaking out in annoyance as Harry leaned over. "Severus, are you bidding for yourself or Aurelius?"

"Aurelius," Severus admitted, Jennifer nodding in turn. He then walked down the aisle and had a quick word with Alex and Thomas before walking back down to stand in front of the fist that had been bidding.

"Who the hell are you?" Harry asked, getting an immediate protest from Boulderdash and the bank officials. But the hand didn't really seem to protest the question, turning to one side and making a fist the holding up two fingers. "A2," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "Rel, you silly git, we've all been bidding against each other trying to get that photo for you!" The hand threw itself up as if to say it didn't care about the price. A few laughs and murmurs went out as Harry shook his head and went to his chair.

"Are there any other bids?" Boulderdash said dryly, despite the fact he knew there wouldn't be. "Sold, to the not-quite-so-anonymous number twenty four. And don't do that again, or I'll have to throw you out," he warned Harry, who simply shrugged and grinned.

"Just make sure you get to mine first," Harry requested.

"Then I'll do that next," Boulderdash said dangerously. He then held up what looked like a rod of gold.

"Stars and comets," Jennifer murmured, her face going white as a sheet before turning around to glare at the previous owner. "Harry, how could you?"

"Don't worry, Jennifer. It's not magic anymore, other than the spell you yourself put on it," Harry said, "It's just a morbid memento and," he added, leaning over to their chairs. "I was thinking that it might be interesting to see what pockets of his old supporters are still left that I need to weed out, because I bet they'd bid on it."

"What's going on?" Severus asked, but was hushed as Boulderdash attempted to speak again.

"I agree, that this seems to be just a simple rod of gold, but let me assure you, it is far from it. In fact, it wouldn't even qualify as real gold by Grigotts' standards, merely permanently transfigured gold," Boulderdash said, holding up the rod delicately by one hand. "It is, in actuality, half of a broken phoenix feather wand once wielded by the wizard criminal once known as Voldemort." An uproar broke out then that took a long time to calm down. Thomas and Draco had both jumped up and stared furiously at Harry, who simply watched everyone's reaction with interest. Severus had lost all the color in his face, finally shaking himself out of it to stare at Harry.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" Severus snapped. "I can't believe you kept that, let alone decided to donate it. I don't care if you do think it's harmless!"

"It's a piece of wood transfigured into gold," Harry said firmly.

"It could be used by the wrong people as the symbol of revenge…"

"So could a lot of other things I could name," Harry said. "Aren't you in the least bit as curious as I am a to who might be interested in it?"

"No," Severus said flatly and turned back around, still quite upset with him. Thomas and Draco had both sat down as well, but he was quite sure that Harry was going to hear some very harsh opinions about this from them as well. But despite what he told Harry, when the bidding opened up on the rod, Severus couldn't help but notice how except for himself, Thomas, and Draco, who were all bidding more to try and keep it out of the wrong hands then from actually wanting the thing, the only other people bidding were anonymous. And there were a great deal of them. In fact, after a while Severus dropped out just so he could turn around and stare at them going back and forth along with Harry, who had been doing it since the bids began, taking careful note of some of the more prominent numbers. At last Draco dropped out as well, and soon it was Thomas against the anonymous bidders, ignoring Stock who was tugging on his sleeve and warning him if he went any further he'd have to sell mine shares. For it was well over a thousand galleons now, and Jennifer's jaw dropped when the amount reached over what Severus had paid for the Baker Street house.

"Don't think ye'll be needin' to worry about your investment in the potion lab any longer, Mrs. Snape," John commented from beside her.

"I for one am a lot more worried who that thing is going to end up with," Severus said, still staring at the hands going back and forth. But suddenly he saw movement and looked down, blinking in surprise when he saw a wizened figure standing in the doorway with a coin jar in his hand.

"Ten thousand galleons!" Toby's voice boomed out. Everyone in the room turned to stare at the old tinker with a dangerous glint in his eye in disbelief, daring anyone to even attempt to outbid him. Above his head, Severus noticed that all the hands had clenched fists and were shaking in a very unnatural sort of way as if trying to fight it but not actually succeeding.

In the dead silence of the room, Boulderdash cleared his throat.

"Any more bids?" he asked quietly. Thomas quickly sat down, despite the fact he was eying the tinker warily. "Sold, then, to Toby the Tinker."

"Thank you," Toby said, striding up cradling his coin jar under one arm. "I'd like it now, please."

No one said a word as he went over to where Balderdash was sitting at an accounting desk, watching with fascination as Toby simply turned the jar over and coins began to pour out on their own and forming their own neat stacks. In no time, the desk was covered with galleons to the point that only the tips of Balderdash's ears could be seen. He then went to where Boulderdash stood holding the rod and watching the exchange, and Boulderdash immediately handed it out to him when the old man approached. But the moment Toby's hand touched the rod, the gold faded into lead. Gaping in surprise, Boulderdash quickly backed away from him.

"Did you see that?" John gaped. "Now, how do you expect that old tinker found himself inflicted with the Gringotts' Curse, that's what I want to know?"

"Long story," Severus said dryly. Thinking back, Jennifer suddenly smiled with amusement.

"There! I think we've had more than enough of that sort of nonsense," Toby declared as the rod of lead turned into a handful of fishing sinks, which he then pocketed. "Good evening, everyone," he said. As he walked out the door, all the hands suddenly broke out of their fist holds, their fingers hanging limp for a moment before returning to their normal relaxed state.

"Why do you suppose he did that?" Harry whispered to Severus.

"Harry, do yourself a favor, just don't ask," Severus advised.

"Well, it got us out of the red, and then some," Jennifer murmured to him. "We should even be able to afford to pay ourselves back and buy a Freeze Frame now."

"Good. But don't look around, or you might risk making more of our money go back out the window," Severus advised. So naturally, Jennifer turned around as Boulderdash unveiled a shimmering white gown that trailed the floor.

"Wow," Jennifer said, Severus' lip twitching in response.

"An exquisite gown by Minerva McGonagall," said Boulderdash, nodding to the woman sitting towards the front. She nodded politely back, a thin but proud smile on her face. Suddenly she glanced behind her, the smile widening mischievously as she saw Jennifer's reaction. "This particular fabric, called Glassilk, I am told, is quite rare, and does not even truly come from our world. I've been told it has some very interesting properties in the right sort of light," he explained, nodding to Minerva who let a beam of light flicker out of her wand. As it hit the silk, the light was suddenly refracted, causing myriads of prismatic images to appear around the dress.

The moment the bidding started, Jennifer raised her hand.

"Well, that dress is sold," Ron said from beside Anna, and the entire row broke out laughing again.

"A bit flashy for your tastes, isn't it?" Severus inquired innocently in a low voice.

"That dress wasn't meant for me and you well know it," Jennifer said back, glancing over at Alicia. But Alicia didn't seem to be paying attention. In fact, she had her sketchbook out.

"I see. Gambling, are we?" he murmured softly.

"Perhaps we all are," Jennifer said, raising her hand again, "All the time. Every day of our lives. And a great many times it seems like we take chances on things we cannot afford to lose."

"The price we pay for just being alive, I suppose," Severus mused, not even blinking an eye when the dress was set next to their table.

"So you do admit we take chances?" Jennifer said after a moment, the auction finally moving on to something that didn't interest her.

"I can hardly deny it," Severus said back.

"Yes, you've taken some great ones. And yet you say you don't believe in fate or luck, either one, even when those odds are stacked against you. What do you hope will carry you through?" Jennifer murmured. Severus shrugged slightly, wondering what had inspired Jennifer to get so deep all the sudden, gazing over at her thoughtful gaze.

"Faith, I suppose," he said quietly after he thought about it a moment. "Mostly in you." Jennifer smiled softly.

"Not yourself?" she whispered, but he shrugged again.

"If I believe in myself, it's simply because you do," he said softly back. Jennifer broke into a warm loving smile, wrapping her arm around his before turning back to the auction.

"And now we move on to a painting that in all honesty needs very little 'talking up,'" Boulderdash said as his brother brought the easel forward. "In fact, I just won't bother. I will only say that it was donated by Alicia Snape, and if I wasn't officiating today, I'd probably be bidding on it myself," he said with a wry grin, unveiling a large painting of a twilight.

Francis Pyther recognized it at once; for he had been there that night. It had been the night of their first meeting, when he had stayed much longer than he should have because Jacob had sent word of a massive magnetic storm near Dawson Creek. And as the Aurora Borealis began to appear in wisps of red and green, the crowd let out sounds of wonder and appreciation. But it was the memories of Polaris that Francis couldn't get out of his mind as the bidding began, and he was itching to bid on it, even though he shouldn't for legal reasons if nothing else. Besides, what would be the point of it, when he had no future? Of course, he could donate it to the school, he mused, although he hated the idea of editing his will again when he had changed it three times that week already. If only things had been different…he shook his head, knowing such thoughts would get him anywhere. Sinistra and Abraxus Coventry seemed to be the primary bidders now, although Thomas had been bidding on it casually from time to time, realizing that if he truly wanted one he would probably be able to talk her into doing another. Several of the hands had moved as well, and for a moment everything seemed a blur as he wished desperately to have the courage to bid despite the fallacy.

It was then his eyes wandered towards Alicia and immediately wished he hadn't, for she had, it seemed, been watching him too and caught his glance the moment he looked over. Catching himself off guard, Francis looked down at his hands, and didn't look back up until the bid was over and Abraxus Coventry finally paid a very respectable price for the work. In fact, it had probably been her highest sale yet, Francis realized, and deservedly so…and a far cry better than his had done. It was only then that Francis found a bit of comfort, nodding to himself. The torch had been passed now, and another artist would rise to the top in his place. Francis smiled to himself, for that at least, was something he highly approved of. But even as he recovered his composure and turned his attention back to the last few items, Alicia was still thinking about the look in his eyes that split moment he had looked over at her, knowing without a doubt, no matter what seemed to be going on, that things were not as they appeared.


	42. The Paintings of Twilight

_A/N Released a chapter late last night as well, if you didn't hear Pyther and Severus' conversation and experience the auction, you may want to back up a chapter. As for everyone else, enjoy! JCWriter. _

Forty-Two

Jennifer Craw and the Paintings of Twilight

As the guests began to leave and several groups began to get together and talk over the success and excitement of the auction, Francis anxiously waited for permission from Severus to leave, glad to have the tests for the next day as an excuse to get away. Jennifer put a hand on Severus in concern.

"You're not just going to let him go like that, are you?" she whispered.

"He does probably have work to do," he murmured back.

"Yes, but he's so depressed…"

"Jennifer, I've done everything I can, but I'm hardly a shr…where's Zack?" Severus asked suddenly.

"Um…out by the Elf Willow playing cowboys and Indians with Peeves and some of the other ghosts, I think…" Jennifer said. Severus stared at her but then quickly shook it off.

"Go get him. Francis may not be a ghost but he is dead, and really, what else have we got? I'll send Andrew to make sure Alicia gets out of the castle without taking any detours. I need to go escort the Ministers. I'll meet you upstairs in a little while." Jennifer nodded and hurried off, glad to be doing anything rather than nothing at this point, for Severus had encouraged her not to get any more involved if she could help it. But how could she not worry? So much was on the line…so much that Severus hadn't yet told her…she tried to push those thoughts out of her mind, knowing he would talk to her before the end. Right now was not the time.

Francis had no more gotten his materials out and started reviewing his key for the written section when there was a brisk knock on his open door. He looked up and blinked in surprise to see Zack standing there in buckskin and war paint.

"Evening, Pyther, what you up to?" he asked cheerfully, making himself at home by sitting down and taking off his moccasins, rubbing his feet. "I swear these shoes weren't meant for this sort of rocky terrain."

"Why are you even wearing that?" Francis asked, shaking his head and looking back at his work.

"I am expressing my right as an American citizen to be as politically incorrect as I like," Zacchius declared.

"I thought you were a British citizen."

"Both. Zoë and I are dual citizens," Zack explained, reluctantly putting his moccasins back on. "Do you know that some schools in the States have actually banned Longfellow's poetry because of the whole 'redskin' thing? Criminal, if you ask me. So much for free speech. But you never told me what you were up to."

"Adding essay questions to this test on Banshees and Sirens," Francis said.

"I always thought essay questions were sadistic when I went to school. Especially Professor Snape's do-or-die ones," Zack said, and then gazed at him. "You know, I never thought you were sadistic enough to be a teacher, but from what I've heard you've been doing a good job."

"Thank you, but if you don't mind, I'd rather like to know if there's any point to this conversation, and if so would you please say it so I can work in peace," Francis said.

"What, are social visits not allowed?" Zack chuckled.

"Not wanted, really. Besides, shouldn't you be off seeing why Icarus has locked himself up in the tower again?" Francis said.

"Probably, although I don't know why you'd care," Zack said. "From the way I understand it, the two of you haven't been getting along lately."

"Most likely because he's been a pain in the rear pestering me, rather to the extent that you are doing right now," Francis snapped.

"Yeah, well, I'm a Black, what do you expect?" Zack said, rubbing his cheek then staring at his hand. "Hey, do you mind if I borrow one of your paint rags?" he asked, getting up and going to the closet.

"Oh no, wait, I'll get it…" Francis said and got up in a panic, but Zack had already opened the closet door.

"What's this?" Zack asked himself, then pulled out the frame and then gaped at it. "Wow!"

"Do you mind?" Francis said, going over to try and get it away from him, but Zack had already moved away and sat it against a wall so he could step back and look at it. "That painting wasn't meant to be seen…"

"All paintings were meant to be seen," Zack said unconcernedly, studying it. "It's absolutely amazing. Not only is it the most accurate I've seen her done, but there's so much symbolism hidden in here. I don't think I've ever seen you do anything like it. You've always tried to stay so true to form on portraits."

"Yes, well, she didn't sit for that portrait, not since she was fifteen at any rate, the rest I did myself. All the same, weren't you looking for something else?" Francis said, conscientiously draping a cloth over it. Zack nodded and headed back over to the closet thoughtfully, grabbing a rag.

"So um…what do you plan to do with it? I mean, it's too good of a painting to leave in a closet forever," Zack asked, looking around for a mirror. Rolling his eyes as he remembered whose office he was in, Zack fished in his pocket for a sickle and transfigured it.

"I left it to the school in my will. They won't care who painted it after I'm gone, and I think the painting would rather like it here among so many other paintings," Francis said, putting it away and returning to his seat.

"Especially since the only painting of you is here," Zack agreed. Francis paused but didn't look up, trying to focus in on his work. "She really does love you, you know."

"I really don't want to talk about that," Francis said firmly.

"You don't seem to want to talk about anything," Zack shrugged, pulling the cloth back from the painting again, ignoring Francis' irritated sigh. "Where did that dress come from, anyhow? I've never seen her in anything like it."

"Why don't you ask Ick, since he already asked me the exact same question," Francis snapped.

"Well, because he's locked in the Tower again, and he didn't paint it, you did," Zack said. "It's awful old fashioned for her…"

"It was based on my mother's dress, if you must know…"

"I thought you never knew your mother," Zack frowned.

"Perhaps, but I know her painting well. Now please, I really need to get some work done," Francis said, getting up and covering the painting again. "Please, Zack, why don't you go psychoanalyze Ick or something?"

"I wasn't analyzing you, Francis. If I were, I'd be listening more than talking, after all. I can't help anyone who obviously doesn't want to be helped," Zack said bluntly.

"I'm glad you realize I don't want your help. Now, if you don't mind?" Francis said, opening the door wider and glaring at him, his red eyes flashing angrily.

"Fine, I'll go," Zack said with a nod. "But I'll be around all night if you decide you do want to talk."

"I wouldn't count on it, if I were you," Francis said, practically pushing him out the door and slamming it behind him.

Zack walked thoughtfully away, slipping into one of the partially repaired secret passages and then up a few more flights of stairs to the Headmaster's Study. Jennifer, although tired, was still awake and sitting in her favorite chair with a glum look on her face, while the Headmaster sat at the desk with a pair of ledgers, getting estimates on the auction.

"Hi," Zack said simply as he walked in. Jennifer suddenly became alert and stared at him searchingly for a moment before slumping back again, while Severus simply gestured for him to have a seat.

"And how is he?" Severus asked expressionlessly, making a note before looking up.

"Depressed," Zack admitted.

"Well, we could have told you that," Jennifer said with exasperation. Zack smiled at her apologetically.

"He didn't want to have much to do with me, really, he went on the defensive the moment I came in the room," he said.

"Stable enough to teach, however?" Severus inquired.

"Sure, safe enough, although he's using work as an escape. Of course, I know a lot of people who do that, including the two of you…"

"You are not qualified to analyze us, thank you," Severus said with a frown, Jennifer hiding a look of amusement.

"I'm not technically qualified to analyze him either, since he's something in between life and death," Zack shrugged. "I did notice that even if he didn't want me around, he answered most of my questions, even personal ones. I don't think it's that he's really unwilling to talk about it so much as he didn't want to talk to me."

"Perhaps I can talk to him?" Jennifer suggested. Severus gazed at her disapprovingly, and Zack quickly shook his head.

"Aunt Jennifer, even if you weren't in the awkward position of being Alicia's mother, you can…well…be a little intimidating to talk to," Zack said, "since if the other person doesn't want to answer, they know very well you'll try to glean the answer anyhow." Jennifer frowned at that, while Severus nodded to him in agreement. "At the same time, I think a parental figure might be a good idea. Did you know there was a painting of his mother somewhere?"

"Is that what she meant?" Jennifer wondered out loud.

"Is that's what who meant?" Severus asked her.

"Alicia," Jennifer said, glancing over at him. "During the holidays when she was planning that trip to Hawaii to meet Jacob's parents, I caught her thinking about how it was only fair because Pyther took her to see his. Rather confused me at the time, so I discounted it as a misread."

They heard someone clearing their throat, and the three of them looked over to see Caprica Dusthorn watching them intently.

"You know this painting I take it?" Severus asked.

"I know of it," Caprica admitted. "It isn't in the castle, though, it's in Paris. Pyther has confided in that painting a lot over the years, though. He's often mentioned to us about his visits there."

"I bet it's in the Louvre, then. They must have seen it on their trip there," Jennifer said. "With everything that happened after that, he's probably not had a chance to go back."

"I think it'd do him some good to talk to them," Caprica put in. Severus gazed at her thoughtfully.

"This time I'm inclined to agree, Uncle Severus. Even if it is just a painting, I'm willing to bet that Pyther probably sees it as a lot more than that, and anything that'll help him open up should improved his state of mind," Zack said.

"Fine, I'll see what I can arrange," Severus said with a nod, glancing over at Jennifer. "Happier now?"

"Not really, but at least it's doing something," Jennifer said with a thin smile.

"God forbid you keeping your nose out of anything, Aunt Jennifer," Zack teased, getting up. "I'm going to go see what Ick's up to. It's a thankless job really, but it's a living…by the way, I'll be raising my rates next year," he quickly added before slipping out the door, dodging the dirty look that Severus threw in that direction.

"He does have two more mouths to feed, Severus," Jennifer volunteered.

"Perhaps I'll take it out of your Potions class budget since you approve," Severus threatened, Jennifer sticking her tongue at him in return. Smiling evilly, Severus tied it in a knot, and it took Jennifer the better part of an hour to convince him to untie it again.

Jennifer was more than willing to accompany Francis that Sunday evening, professing that she needed to get away for a while anyway after the excitement with the auction. Fortunately for Francis, she expressed no interest at all in seeing any of the non-moving art exhibits, and as they walked down the hall towards his father's exhibit glanced at each painting for only a moment or two before losing interest and going to the next one. Only the painting his father had done of Hamlin had she insisted let play out more than once, coming out of the room with a very thoughtful look on her face. What her opinions were of any of the paintings for the most part she kept to herself, nor did she speak any more than ask a few rudimentary questions common of a casual art viewer. If she had had to pick a favorite, Sunrise would have definitely been it, and that at least, she admitted quite appreciatively. It was there she excused herself to go to not long after he had introduced her to her father and mother's painting, pausing only to smile at young boy's picture before disappearing into the next room to wait the next viewing, taking a moment to talk to their guide to make certain Francis' room stayed vacant.

"Good evening, Mother, Father," Francis said softly when she was well out of the room.

"We're so glad to see you, Francis! We were beginning to wonder if you were going to make it before we were put into storage again," Matilda said once they were safely alone.

"I'm sorry, Mother," Francis said somberly. "But my life has been, well, rather complicated lately."

"So we've been hearing, Francis," the mirror portrait of Michael, nodding slightly and looking over his palette. Francis blinked in surprise.

"You've been hearing, sir?" he asked, and his father nodded again.

"Maiden Alicia often comes to visit us, my love," Matilda explained with a smile while distractedly trying to straighten her young boy's hair. "She is a very special girl."

"Yes, she is," Francis said, but was unable to hide the alarm in his voice. "How often?"

"Why, is there some reason she shouldn't?" Michael asked casually, beginning to paint again.

"I can think of any number of reasons. When was the last time she visited?" Francis asked.

"Does it matter?" Michael asked, pausing to listen.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, it does, considering…well, we're not seeing each other any more."

"By that you mean you're not courting her?" Matilda asked.

"Yes, mother, that is so. I am not," Francis said.

"But she is so perfect for you, Francis! No mother could ask more for her son!" she protested. "She's beautiful and intelligent…"

"By that she means she has a quick tongue," Michael grunted, glancing at his wife.

"There's nothing wrong with that, else you should have spoken up before you married me, Monsieur Pyther," Matilda tsked before turning back to Francis. "And most important, she does love you so, Francis. And I did think perhaps you felt the same of her."

"How I feel about it doesn't matter, Mother…"

"Why Francis! Love doesn't matter? What could possibly matter more? Coin? Status? If you craved such things, you would not have been a painter, my love," she scolded him, hugging the boy at her side.

"I'm not certain I can make you understand," Francis sighed. "A vampire's instinct for creating death is just as strong as a woman's instinct to bring life into the world. I have never wished to harm anyone, Mother, and I shall certainly not allow myself to condemn her into the darkness I face. I came close once, but never again. She deserves much more than that."

"Then you do love her?" Matilda asked softly.

"Of course, Mother, more than my own paltry existence is worth for certain," Francis admitted. "But for the love of God, please don't tell her that if you do speak to her again! Although…although in a way I am glad she's speaking to the two of you. Perhaps you can help her…" Francis hesitated then, gazing at his mother, who had just picked up his younger self and sat him on her lap.

"Help her what, Francis?" his father asked. He was going to tell them, but all of the sudden attempting to explain to them what he was planning seemed too heartbreaking to bear. His father might understand, but it was quite plain that his mother never would.

"Help her understand it's better this way," he finished at last. "I'm better off alone."

"You're not alone, Francis," Matilda said firmly. "You will always have us, and we will always love you."

"Thank you, Mother," Francis said with a smile.

"Francis?" Francis looked down to see it had been the older portrait of Michael who had spoken that time. "Come down here a moment, we need to talk."

"Run along, Francis, but come visit more often," the younger Michael said from the mirror. Matilda smiled and nodded in agreement, and Francis glanced around to make sure the room was still quiet before stepping over to the other portrait.

"Yes, Father?" Francis asked.

"It's about this girl…" Michael began, and then looked thoughtful before meeting his gaze. "Do you…happen to know how it is, exactly, she has been visiting us?"

"Well, more than likely, knowing Alicia, she probably just walked into your picture frame one day and scared the wits out of you," Francis chuckled.

"Surprised perhaps, but not as much as you think," Michael said softly, glancing up at the _Family Portrait_. "Your mother wasn't surprised at all. Because, you see, it wasn't the first time she's ever seen something like that."

"Are you saying she's visited you sometime before you knew who she was?" Francis asked with interest.

"No, nothing like that. Actually, perhaps it's best if I tell it to you as a story," he decided, folding his hands together and looking at them for a moment before finally looking up again.

"Once there was a lonely, broken hearted old widower with a very young son he raised mostly himself, with the exception of a wet nurse, of course, who looked after him in his most tender years. But when he was old enough to talk and walk on his own and had begun to realize he had a mind of his own, the old painter let the nurse go…perhaps before the boy was ready, for he had realized he had no mother, and was then of the age he started to ask questions. So the painter told his son simply that his mother was the most beautiful woman in all the world, and gave him a portrait of himself and the boy's mother just after they had gotten married. And like most boys of four and five, his son had taken to talking to it, and as his father was a busy man by trade and had fits of obsession with his work when the mood struck him," he admitted apologetically in a low voice, "he didn't think much about it. Until one night, the painter went into their bedroom to find the boy wasn't in his cot. After several minutes of terror wondering where he went, he happened to look up in that portrait…and saw the boy sleeping in his mother's lap while she gently brushed his hair and comforted him," he said, Francis having to sit down to keep his head clear. "Wish magic, it was. There could be no doubt of it; the boy had wished himself in, so badly had he wanted a true family, but it frightened the poor painter terribly…frightened when he began to do it night after night…frightened that one day the boy would Wish himself in and would no longer have the will to get out. So, the old painter removed the painting from the room so that the boy no longer could get to it, and after many tearful nights, the boy began to sleep restfully again. When the boy kept bringing it up, the painter devised a plan to convince him he had just pretended to be in the painting the entire time, and having painted the boy's image in the painting…as much as to placate the mother who had become attached to the boy's presence as for the boy's benefit…he finally convinced his son it was nothing but a fanciful dream. The boy had grown out of it and was onto other ways of expressing himself, and the father never found reason to mention what had really happened in his lifetime."

"I…I don't believe it. I don't believe what you're telling me," Francis murmured, staring at the _Family Portrait _as if seeing it for the first time.

"Believe it or not, it happened, nonetheless, Francis, nor had I ever heard anyone else doing anything like it until I saw Maiden Alicia. Although hers is much more advanced than your desire to simply inhabit a single painting to be close to your mother. All the same, I thought it was time you knew. You're alike in so many ways…"

"Only I have no nerve and she has it in spades," Francis chuckled dryly.

"Do not be so quick to deal yourself out, son. Where there's life, there is hope…"

"Father, I truly have neither," Francis said, standing up. "The only desire I have left is to make certain that Alicia has a chance at a happy life without me. Please, if she does come back, don't say anything to upset her."

"Whatever I could tell her would be things she could easily find out for herself," Michael shrugged. "Take care of yourself, son."

"Thank you, Father," Francis said, pausing one last time to gaze at the_ Family Portrait_ before slipping out the door.

"Is he gone?" the younger Michael murmured in a low voice.

"Yes, I think he is gone at last," Matilda agreed, setting young Francis down and standing up, looking to peer around the corner one last time before gazing over at the mirror. "It is safe to come out now, Maiden Alicia!" Slowly, Alicia came out from behind the mirror frame, looking very pale and shaken. "There, now, don't cry! We told you he loved you!"

Little Francis ran over to her then, wrapping his arms around her waist, staring up at her stricken face with a frown, wondering why she was so upset.

"Hey! I love you too!" he protested, trying to get her attention. She knelt down and found herself hugging the little boy tightly, but despite his efforts to comfort her, nothing could keep the tears off her face.

Severus had been using his quiet evening alone to try and make some sense of everything they had found out about the paintings so far…the dust…the spatial dimension…and somehow Pyther connected…he glanced over Jennifer's new formulas. At least those looked promising; she was, in fact, probably well on her way to finding something that might keep it from spreading. But what had started it? He chewed on his unlit pipe in annoyance, glancing over the first paintings, attempting to put them in groups, noting the order when he could, circling the ones he wasn't sure of. And then, there was that feeling…that feeling that had come through when the clouds came out and the lines between dimensions seemed to blur. Questioning Ick had met only dead ends, despite the fact he seemed to know more than he was saying, especially since he seemed to have at least known enough the day of the accident to warn them. But what was it that he wasn't telling them? Was it his way of attempting to prevent something he had seen?

His thoughts were interrupted as Jennifer slipped in the room, tearing off her cloak tiredly and practically falling into her chair without a word. Severus stared at her, not used to her coming in with nothing to say at all.

"So? How was the museum?" Severus asked.

"Hm," Jennifer said distractedly. "Fine, I suppose." Severus blinked at her, but when she didn't seem inclined to tell him any more, he sighed and went back to the painting list. "Severus," she said at last, and he looked at her from over his spectacles. "When exactly is it that a Cosmic Match is formed?" she asked, and he stared at her in confusion. "I mean…is it something decided before we are born by a divine power, or is it something random, or is it something born of circumstance?"

"Haven't we debated this philosophical question before and gotten nowhere?" Severus asked.

"Yes, but I can't help to wonder about it. Oh, I know. To hear you speak of it, it's as simple as being extremely compatible, like a well-tuned potion where each ingredient has reached a perfect balance. But haven't you ever felt it was more than that?"

"Now and then, perhaps, in the heat of the moment," he said casually, not bothering to look up knowing full well that his wife was giving him a dirty look.

"Oh, honestly, Severus, I'm being serious. I mean, I know I felt a strong connection to you from the moment we met. Anna thinks that her and Sirius' encounter with the Grim in the woods all those years ago had something to do with theirs, despite the fact that Viviane said they were fated to be together because of their descent…"

"Now, let's not bring her into this discussion, Jennifer, you know as well as I do that Aunt Viv prophesies what she wants then makes it happen just as she pleases," Severus said.

"Very true, although to be fair, she didn't show up until after they had fallen in love with each other," Jennifer said.

"I admit you have a point," Severus mused. "I can't see anyone falling in love with Sirius in any normal circumstances, so something else had to be at work." Jennifer glowered at him. "Why exactly are you bringing this up right now?"

"Pyther, why else?" Jennifer said, Severus finally looking over. "He wouldn't let me get a terribly good read on him after he got done talking to his parents, but apparently he learned that he had once been able to jump into paintings too, using Wish magic," she explained when Severus squinted. "He grew out of it when he was very young, but that he could do it at all, well, it's astounding. That was centuries ago…and it puts a real wrench in Pyther's theory that his connection with Alicia has absolutely nothing to do with being fated together at all."

"Oh?" Severus said, glancing at the painting list again.

"Yes, because all of this time, Pyther has believed that everything that's happened was the Leanan Sidhe's fault," Jennifer sighed. Severus suddenly sat up straight in surprise.

"What did you say?" he asked.

"You know, the Leanan Sidhe that attacked him back when Anna was carrying Alicia. He thought that's how they got connected…"

"Wait, Jennifer, back up. How exactly was she disposed of? Did Anna do something?" Severus asked sharply.

"I don't remember exactly, Severus, but I think someone said Aurora Sinistra got rid of it," Jennifer said, watching his face with surprise. Severus tossed off his glasses.

"Caprica, where's Aurora?"

"Astrology Tower, doing observations, more than likely," Caprica said, and Severus strode towards the doors.

Jennifer leapt to her feet and hurried after him, barely able to keep up until he finally reached out and grabbed her arm and she found herself at the top of the tower steps. Aurora looked up in surprise when they arrived, then glanced up at the stars.

"Hm, you'd think Mars would have been in Aquarius for unexpected visitors…"

"Now, don't start that!" Severus snapped, Sinistra raising an eyebrow in surprise. "Do you happen to remember much about the night the Leanan Sidhe got in the castle?"

"That was over twenty years ago," Sinistra chuckled. "I do remember wanting to put Sibyl out of our misery that night…"

"Considering what happened later, it might have been helpful," Severus said dryly. "Do you happen to remember what spell you used to get rid of the Sidhe?" Sinistra looked thoughtful.

"No, but I've never been one to use flashy spells, it'd have been something direct and to the point. In fact, I think I used a standard banishing spell."

"A banishing spell?" Jennifer repeated, wondering if Severus wasn't on to something after all.

"Where do things end up when we banish them?" Severus murmured more to himself than to anyone else. But Aurora shrugged.

"Hopefully back to wherever they came from," she said.

"But the gates weren't working right at that point," Jennifer realized. "Things were pouring out from all over. What if she somehow used what she soaked out of Pyther to slowly work her way back to the castle to try and find a way back into our dimension?"

"I would guess that those first paintings infected were probably ones that Pyther was repairing that night," Severus nodded. "They would have been the strongest connection to her."

"And this disease is her trying to pull in more power connected to this dimension. Since they were all painted here, she's probably trying to find a way to use the energy to cross back over," Jennifer said. "That's why we both felt drained when Francis' connection to her made the potions fail and the dimensions got all blurred. She's reaching for another source. The paintings in and of themselves aren't strong enough to truly give her enough power; she's a Dark Muse. She needs a true creative source to drain to get the power she needs."

"Yes, Jennifer, and that is why Alicia would be in so much danger if she came in contact with it!" Severus said in alarm. "Her talent would not only be an easy target, but a true creative source for that thing to feed on!" he said, grabbing his watch and glancing at it. "Hogsmeade…knowing her, probably at the Pannage. Jennifer, go catch up with her and don't let her out of her sight. Tell her what's going on and make sure she stays away from the castle until I can figure out a way to get that rid of that thing! I'm going to chat with Pyther then dig in the library to see if I can find some safe way to extract it." Jennifer nodded and dove down the stairs.

"Anything I can do?" Sinistra asked.

"I suggest you finish your reading, and if it turns out badly, pray it's wrong," he snapped before heading down the stairs itself. But as he strode down the corridor towards the main stairs, he heard Jennifer's unmistakable scream and ran down to meet her, stopping dead in his tracks when he arrived; for the One-eyed Witch had been moved to one side, and right beside it was a clouded painting.

Severus knew before he even looked that Alicia's watch hand had swung to Hogwarts just before it had settled on Mortal Peril.

"What was she doing here? Why did she come back?" Jennifer shrieked.

"Jennifer, calm down! You're not helping anyone this way, I need to think!" Severus snapped at her.

"What is the fuss about? Another painting down?" John asked from just above them as several of the staff had appeared on different landings to see why someone had screamed.

"To hell with the painting! My daughter is in there!" Jennifer shouted, and then heard another scream from the second floor landing.

"Alicia!" Francis screamed. Suddenly he got a strange look on his face and took off down the corridor. Reading what he was planning to do, Jennifer dove after him.

"Jennifer! Where are you going?" Severus said.

"Stay here, Severus!" Jennifer said, having no more time to explain as she ran to catch up with Francis. No doubt about it. That vampire could run fast when he was motivated. He had burst into the Defense Room and into his office, pulling out the Alicia painting and setting it firmly on an easel.

"Help me," Francis said, putting his hand on the canvas as if half expecting it to come to life. "Dear God, please help me!" Francis shouted again, putting his hands to the canvas and closing his eyes, trying to forget he was doing the impossible. Trying to remember what it felt like to travel with Alicia. What it felt like to want to be a part of a painting. _Need _to be._ Must _be. But more than anything, he wanted to see Alicia…_needed_ to see Alicia. _Must _see Alicia…he suddenly felt his hands give and opened his eyes, quite expecting that the painting was in the middle of falling off the easel.

Instead, he was in the process of falling in.

He felt hands on him as the portrait of Alicia attempted to steady him and pull him in, but just as he got his last foot into the frame he heard a voice call his name.

"Wait, take me with you!" Jennifer demanded as she ran in. Francis looked at the black edge of the frame, shaking his head. "Damn it, Pyther, this is no time to argue! The Leanan Sidhe is causing this, and you're going to need the extra wand of someone who knows what they're doing! She's my daughter, Pyther! Quick, there's no time!" Francis sighed and reached out his hand, and Jennifer found herself being pulled in.

"We're going to need to jump between frames…" Francis said, not liking the look of it but knowing they had no choice.

"Let's go then, just go!" Jennifer said, stepping out of the frame. After the first shock of landing in the next one, Jennifer soon found herself jumping from one to the next in and out until she recognized the Trophy Room, and within no time the two of them found themselves racing through the ones on the stairwell, using the frames like windows to the outside world to reference where they were. As they raced towards the clouded painting, she suddenly heard her name, and looked out in surprise to see Severus staring through a frame at her with open concern. "Don't worry, we'll get her out, Severus," Jennifer said.

"I believe in you," Severus said quietly, and Jennifer smiled and nodded to him in understanding before racing to catch up with Francis who had already dove into the painting of clouds.

A moment later they found themselves standing near a slumped over portrait, sleeping fitfully on the edge of what appeared to be a great circular theatre. But instead of windows there were large frames on the balconies; and beside each frame, the portraits that had been in them slept restlessly as if fighting to be awake but too drained to regain consciousness.

Pyther's eyes focused around the center circle where a tall dark-haired woman with a face that reminded him of every woman he had ever painted stood in front of the almost catatonic form of Alicia. She was standing before a canvas, painting with no real form. Near them, the stronger or more troublesome paintings slept under the Leanan's watchful eye…Corey and the Sentinels, Cadogen, Godric, Rowena and Helga among the many.

"Alicia," Francis murmured, staring at the grey tone of her face, but Jennifer grabbed his arm before he could bolt down to try and rescue her.

"Wait, Francis, we need to think this thing through," she hissed.

"We need to get down there," he hissed back.

"Granted, but don't go barreling in there a willing target," Jennifer whispered. "There's only one way to permanently get rid of this sort of Sidhe, Pyther, and that's by turning her magic against her. If you paint her into a picture, she will instinctively drain it and herself in the process, destroying herself."

"Destroy? But…"

"Damn it, Pyther, it's her life or Alicia's!" Jennifer snapped. "Banishing would do us no good here. Even if it worked temporarily, she has soaked in enough of their essence now she'd just come straight back. It's the only way, and since I'm an amateur painter at best, you are going to have to do it. In the meantime, I'll try to distract her enough you can do what you have to and I'll work on some way to keep her from draining Alicia to death."

"All right," Francis said with a nod. "But I'll need paints and things…"

"She'll probably give them to you when she sees you to try to drain you," Jennifer shrugged, starting to work her way down. "But no matter what, you have got to concentrate on what you need to do. Don't let her charm talk you into painting anything else, or we're all going to end up in trouble!"

"Then I had better begin," Francis said, and before Jennifer could react, turned into a bat and soared down through the faint mist to the center of the circle and reappeared, wand in hand. Worriedly, Jennifer began to make her way down as quickly as she could, trying to work out her possible options when she got down there. "Leanan! Unhand that girl!" Francis shouted firmly, pointing his wand at her menacingly.

"Oh, it's you!" Leanan said brightly, clapping her hands in delight with a charming smile that instantly reminded Francis of Alicia's. Francis hesitated, but then looked over at Alicia then back at the Sidhe, reaffirming his resolve by shaking his head at her. "Yes it is, I remember you well! You are all around me!" she said, spreading out her hands and gesturing to the restless paintings around her, but then she furrowed her slender brows and puckered her dainty lips. "But what has happened to you? Have I drained so much of your creativity as that? You're all dried up," she said disappointedly.

"Hardly," Francis said firmly.

"Oh, of course you are, you're simply in denial. Go away, or I'll loose the paintings on you," the Leanan said unimpressed, turning back to Alicia.

"You won't be able to use her as a source forever! She's already starting to wane!" Francis shouted. "Let her rest. I'll be your source in the meantime!"

"I have already gotten what I needed from you. You have nothing left to give. Begone!" the Leanan said, turning her back to him. Francis stared at her a moment, and then out of desperation, began to cast a spell. But the moment he began, the wand suddenly whipped out of his hand and into hers. "Silly wizard. As if such a thing would truly work against me in my own kingdom."

"This isn't your kingdom, Leanan!" Jennifer snapped, coming out of the shadows with her own wand in hand. "This area belongs to the paintings of Hogwarts!"

"What is this?" the Leanan said with interest, finally turning to look at Jennifer curiously. "How did you get in here? You, at least, have talents to be exposed," she murmured. Jennifer hesitated and glanced over at Francis, for this was not what she intended at all.

"Fine, then I'll paint for you, for Alicia's sake," Jennifer said at last.

"Paint?" the Leanan laughed. "No, no, at that you're an amateur. You have a gift of creation…your creativity seems to lie with making things. Perhaps you can join her and release the strain. It might keep her alive longer," the Leanan mused, lifting a single finger.

Guardedly, Jennifer backed up as a frame popped off the wall and floated down to the center. Instantly she recognized it; it was an old painting of the Potion Lab. Quite old, she realized, from the style of the equipment. Glancing back hesitantly at the Leanan, Jennifer went over and stepped in, tentatively picking a phial off the shelf, opening and smelling it unsurely.

"Oh, don't worry about that. In this world, the contents of that lab are as real as you are," the Leanan said with a thin smile, and Jennifer felt that strange pull that she had felt the day of the accident. "So, why don't you be a good sacrificing mother and make me up something extra special?"

"Fine, for Alicia's sake, I shall," Jennifer said defiantly. Quickly she turned and swung the empty cauldron off the fireplace and lit a fire, taking a moment to familiarize herself with the setup of the lab and the strange lettering and symbols on each. Smelling proved to be a faster method of identification rather than attempting to decipher them, but fortunately the potion she had in mind would use mostly dry components she could easily identify by that method. She felt the drain on her from the moment she put the first two ingredients together but forced herself to ignore it, concentrating on the precision she was going to need to pull off the mixture. Taking advantage of the Leanan's lack of interest in him, Francis cautiously worked his way over to the Lab painting.

"What can I do?" Francis asked anxiously, gazing back at Alicia worriedly. But a mist had formed between the lab painting and the Leanan, an outward sign of the drain on Jennifer, and Alicia didn't look quite as strained as she had a moment before.

"I have an idea, but I'm going to need your help," Jennifer murmured to him, still quickly working to bring the archaic tools to temperature and wishing she had a thermometer of some kind. "We need to try and get a message to Severus. Once I make this up, I'll need you to find the painting he's standing by, touch the painting, and let the potion loose."

"How would I figure out which one?" Francis said, staring up at the expanse of frames.

"Never mind that yet. Go see if you can wake up some paintings while I'm finishing this. We may need some help distracting her," Jennifer murmured. "Corey would be ideal."

"Corey?" Francis said, and then turned around. There in the room under an ornate frame lay young Corey, Danny, Doug, Taylor, Essie, and Angela, while the wispy figures of Icarus, Janus and Rachel floated in a comatose state and the paintings of Caprica and Bedivere slept on the wall nearby. He stared at the paintings in terror and surprise. How did Caprica get in here? No wait, it wasn't Caprica's real portrait at all. It was the one he had painted into the painting itself; that was why it was still in a frame. Letting out a sigh of relief, Francis stepped over to the sleeping paintings, looking back cautiously only to see that the Leanan was too focused on draining Alicia and Jennifer to be concerned with his actions. Gently he began to shake Corey awake, then more firmly when he didn't awaken right away. But finally the boy blinked and looked around dazed, focusing in on Pyther and the fact that he, at least, seemed to have some color left. His and the rest of the paintings had faded, and Corey was quite sure after a moment that he wasn't looking at another painting.

"Got you too, huh?" Corey asked in a low voice.

"Yes, and not just me," Francis admitted, glancing back at the lab painting. Corey gasped, and Francis quickly put a hand over his mouth to prevent her from calling out her name. "She asked me to wake you. We may need some distraction."

"Distraction is my middle name. After trouble," Corey amended with a grin before reaching over and shoving Doug hard. Doug let out a yelp and Francis hissed at them.

"Not yet! A little quieter if you don't mind, please!" Francis pleaded.

"Sorry," Corey grinned, turn turned to wake his sister up while Francis made his way back to the Lab painting.

Francis whispered Jennifer's name several times without getting a response, finally having to raise it to pull her out of the daze she had fallen into. Blinking at him, she rubbed her head apologetically.

"Don't stop, move on to the next!" Leanan commanded, and Jennifer felt the pull on her again. But Jennifer's many years of training against such charms held it in check, and even with the drain, she was somehow able to reach out and start a new potion while still cupping a finished one out for Francis, a watch chain dangling from one of her fingers.

"Take them, please take them," Jennifer said shakily, and Francis reached into the frame and grabbed them from her hands. "Touch the surface first. Very important and don't…the compass can't be moving…"she murmured.

"Get away from that painting!" the Leanan snapped angrily at Francis. "Get away at once, or I'll kill them now!"

Francis slowly backed away, palming the potion and watch behind him as he did so. He knew the threat was empty; the Leanan would need to drain them until they had given out both in creativity and life. But now it was best to cooperate, and as he backed further and further away. When Jennifer began to create something new, the Leanan lost interest, glancing over at Alicia, still painting slowly despite the fact that her face had finally lost all color. Knowing he would have to hurry now, Francis turned and scurried away, opening the watch. That part was easy, he realized, immediately turning to the direction of the compass and running towards it, climbing himself up to reach the first frame. But when the arrow never settled on the painting in front of him, Francis realized the problem. So many paintings were vertically above him…and only one was right. He turned into a bat and hopped to the next level and turned back to check the watch again, over and over until the watch finally seemed to settle. He frowned at it a moment unsurely, going up to the next level to be sure; but when the compass began to shake again, he knew for certain he had had the right one and hopped back down, recognizing now the sleeping figure of a monk crumpled beside the painting. He glanced back only once to see the Leanan had paid him no mind, and he nodded to himself, quite sure that was about to change. Brushing his hand against the clouded surface, Pyther twisted the lid and set it down, quickly returning to bat form to fly out of its range just as the gaseous potion went off.

Despite the fact that Severus hadn't moved from where Jennifer had bade him to stay, Severus had been anything from idle. As staff appeared to find out what was going on and offer their assistance, Severus directed them away; John to the quarantine room, Tangent to the containment room, and Minerva to check on the houserooms and call for Sagittari to wait in the medical wing. Only Andrew stood by his side in case he needed anything else, as silent and somber as Severus was, staring at the clouded painting with resolve despite the torturous wait they knew was ahead of them.

Suddenly, Severus noticed a wisp of smoke and blinked, shoving Andrew back and bringing up his wand and hand in surprise as the wisp grew into a boiling cloud. But as he worked to suspend it, he noticed something different; the smoke contained different colors…common smoke bomb formula he mused, wondering why it had been used.

"Back up, Andrew, I am going to let this finish!" Severus ordered, backing further away himself, his hands still raised as they pushed further down the hall. At last, he felt safe enough distance to let it go, watching the boiling clouds fill the air while the different colors of smoke began to form words: CANVAS. PAINT. CLOAK.

"Beware of that cloud, but stay here, Andrew. Don't leave them for a second!" Severus ordered. Andrew simply nodded as Severus raced down the hall, the stairs quickly falling into place so he could dash up them.

"_WHAT WAS THAT?"_ the Leanan Sidhe boomed when she felt a small explosion by one of the frames above her, whipping around furiously as a bat came to land on a different level and reform.

"Oh, nothing, that was just me being helpless again," Francis said glibly.

"I have had enough of you!" she growled furiously, turning to try and contain him as he turned back into a bat, attempting to unleash her drain against him. But with no life or creativity left to affect, her calling had no hold. Jennifer suddenly felt the drain on her weaken and forced herself to stop making the potion she was on, straining against the call to turn her focus towards the room.

"Leave the bat alone!" Corey shouted at the Leanan.

"You? What are you doing awake!" the Leanan shouted.

"No one can control the great Athos!" Corey said defiantly, holding up his hand defensively. "Not the best professors in Hogwarts, and definitely not some dark fae like you!"

"You will not control us either," Icarus said with a flash in his eyes from where he stood next to Rachel and Janus, their expressions just as intense.

"Wake up! Wake up! Don't listen to the calls! Defend yourselves!" the painting of Caprica Dusthorn ordered. Obediently, the other paintings began to awaken, and the Leanan was forced to turn on them, her calls goading them back to submission. "Don't listen! Fight it, fight it!" Caprica yelled, despite the fact her own eyelids were drooping.

Jennifer jumped out of the painting, able to break free at last, but before she could make a move towards Alicia, Alicia suddenly collapsed, for the force keeping her painting in her weakened state was also keeping her conscious. As the Leanan felt the connection between herself and Alicia break, she turned once more to Jennifer in fury, forcing her entire will on her. But even as Jennifer was forced to her knees, she had seen a flash of golden robes pass near the edge of her vision among the awakened paintings, knowing for certain whom it was.

For it was the painting of Albus Dumbledore, and he was carrying her cloak.

"Mom!" Corey shouted, and he and Essie ran over to her. "Don't give in now!"

"No, no, don't give in," Jennifer said shakily. "Keep fighting, you must all keep fighting! Help them, Corey, please!"

"Fight it! Fight it! Don't let her get any of us!" Corey shouted, running back to the others while Essie stayed at Jennifer's side. "There's too many of us now, don't you see? She can't control us all!"

"Fight! Fight! We shall tear her asunder with our might!" Sir Cadogen declared.

"The paintings of Hogwarts shall never give in to you!" Godric Gryffindor said defiantly, as he, Rowena, and Helga stood side-by-side with their wands all pointed at the Leanan Sidhe.

"To the bitter end and beyond!" Icarus declared, even as Dewhurst flew down to his side, cawing out in anger.

"Fools! Fools, all of you! Mere paintings have no control over me!" the Leanan snarled.

"But we're not mere paintings!" the Fat Lady declared, the Grim Grackle swooping down to join her. "We are none other than the paintings of Hogwarts, and you, foul creature, have met your match!" The Fat Lady then began to sing, her piercing, sharp tones ringing out in such horrendous tones that the Muse began to scream in horror.

"How dare you! I will drain you all, every last one!" she swore, raising her hands again and unleashing all of the power she had gathered to force them back into their slumber, draining them all as she pulled them back under.

One by one, they began to fall, despite Corey, Caprica, and the Founders cries to keep fighting. The mist had turned into thick strands of grey, pulling into the Leanan from all directions until even the Founder and Sentinel paintings began to falter, falling back into a slumber.

"And now I shall finish you," she said triumphantly, drawing them into her.

Suddenly she began to feel strange, and she wondered why she wasn't getting more power…why, it felt as if it were wavering, even as the last of the painting turned to grey.

But when realization finally took hold it was much too late, her cry of terror ringing out in anguish as her own skin began to lose its color; not only paling, but fading, fading until she was no more than a ghost. At last, a sudden piercing light flashed out where the Leanan stood, shooting off into the first row of paintings where Francis Pyther stood beside the canvas that bore her image, her life force finally failing as it turned upon itself until even the image that he had painted turned black.

A silence fell then, and Francis heard only his own sigh of relief in that first moment as he took to bat form and flew down to Alicia's side. Even as he arrived and pulled her into his arms, the paintings began to stir and murmur, wondering what just happened.

Jennifer heard her name and opened her eyes to see Corey, Essie, and Albus gathered around her, gazing at her with concern and looking thankful that she seemed all right.

"What happened?" Jennifer asked hazily, and Albus smiled and nodded to her, glancing at Pyther who had her cloak on.

"Mr. Pyther caught the Leanan in a painting," Essie said. "I think she's gone now."

"Good riddance!" Corey said, but Jennifer was scrambling to get up and get over to Alicia.

She was so grey! So very grey! There was so little left of her, Jennifer realized, becoming alarmed when Alicia opened her eyes. She gazed up at Francis as he cradled her; his unmistakable worry so very evident in his face.

"Save your strength," he whispered to her softly. "We still need to get you out of here." She shook her head minutely, but he stopped her. "We will get you out of here, Alicia."

"I just came to tell you…" Alicia murmured, so weak she was barely audible. "I wouldn't be happy without you, Francis…"

"Please, Alicia, don't talk, please, you have to conserve what little strength you have left," Jennifer said worriedly, realizing that her daughter didn't want to fight it. "Alicia, we need you. The frames are still clouded, we need to find a way out."

"I know how," Alicia murmured, closing her eyes a moment, Francis and Jennifer glancing at each other helplessly. "Caprica. Need to go to Caprica." The two of them looked over at the Caprica's unclouded frame and back at each other again.

"Do you think it will work?" Jennifer wondered out loud, knowing what she had in mind.

"I'll carry her, Jennifer," Francis said, gently picking her up. "You're still so grey."

"Never mind about me, let's just get her out of here," Jennifer said, getting back up. The paintings that had gathered around quickly parted to let them through, watching somberly as they carried Alicia up to the painting of Caprica Dusthorn hanging there.

"It'll be all right, Alicia, just hang on a little while longer," Caprica begged her. If Alicia had even heard her, she made little sign. But the moment that Francis brought her to the painting, Alicia forced her arm to reach out and touch it. Seconds later, Francis and Jennifer found themselves stepping out of a painting and into the Headmaster's Study.

"Alicia!" The real Caprica cried out in dismay when she saw her.

"Lay her down, Francis!" Jennifer snapped. "Hurry! I need you away from her! Step back!"

Francis did as he was told, confused and worried, wanting nothing more than getting her to the hospital wing as soon as possible. But Jennifer knew there wasn't enough time; her daughter was very literally fading, and fast. Bringing up her wand, Jennifer used the last of her energy and murmured a spell, enveloping the girl in a bright white light just as Severus burst through the doors. Jennifer tried to say something but fell to the floor. Severus needed little direction to know what needed to be done next. A shimmering phial was in his hand as he knelt by his daughter's side, forcing a few drops into her mouth and making certain she swallowed it.

"Take care of Jennifer," Severus ordered him before picking Alicia up.

"Alicia?"

"I'm entrusting you with my wife, do as you're told!" Severus snapped, carrying her out the doors. Francis turned and knelt beside her gently trying to wake her but soon realized that she wouldn't. Carefully, he picked Jennifer up and followed Severus, stumbling a moment when he realized that the hospital wing had been just steps away on the other side of the door.


	43. The End of Twilight

_A/N A chapter best served by releasing it at dawn. ;) Enjoy! JCWriter. _

Chapter Forty-Three

The End of Twilight

Jennifer awoke to the warm touch of sunlight beaming in from the windows of the hospital wing, tired and dazed but aware of a presence by her side. Severus put a hand around hers.

"Alicia?" Jennifer murmured.

"A long road ahead of her, but alive," Severus assured her quietly. "Reminds me a great deal of how you looked that fateful night when you were poisoned carrying her."

"I pulled through, Severus, so will she," Jennifer said softly.

"One can only hope," Severus said quietly back, then glanced up. "By the way, I have a surprise for you, although I did promise Sagittari not to get you too excited."

"A promise you've broken often in the past," Jennifer said with a weak smile.

"Yes, well, you do need your rest," Severus said quietly, but then pointed up over her head. Curiously, Jennifer looked up to where he was pointing, and then broke into another smile.

"Hi, Mom!" Corey said from the edge of the Sentinels painting, holding up the cards in hand to show he had a straight. "Shall we deal you in?"

"I'm sure she won't be up for that sort of thing for a while," Severus frowned disapprovingly at him. "I hope you don't mind, Jennifer, I borrowed that last formula you made and put a tweak or two of my own on it to start the restoration process. It seems to take a couple of days for it to actually restore them completely, but as you can see, it's effective. I took the liberty of making certain this one was restored first, but you're not to let it distract you. You need to sleep and recover."

"I feel I could sleep for a week," Jennifer admitted.

"As long as it takes, Jennifer," Severus said firmly. "Hermione is back and has taken over Potions for now, and for some reason Pyther is in no hurry to leave the castle at the moment and has agreed to stay as long as necessary."

"How is he?" Jennifer asked.

"Too anxious about the two of you to be wallowing in his own self pity, thankfully enough," Severus said dryly, Jennifer shaking his head at him. "He's all right, no worse for the wear from the experience, although I can't say it's left him completely unchanged, either…" he said thoughtfully, Jennifer gazing at him searchingly. "In many ways, a good change, I think. But enough talk. Rest."

"Don't worry, sir, we'll keep her out of trouble," Corey promised, and Severus glanced up just in time to see the boy salute.

"Perhaps I should put you back in the Trophy Room after all," Severus mused.

"Oh, Severus, please leave them," Jennifer said with a pleading smile, even as her eyes began to feel heavy. "It's going to be so good to have all the paintings back, Severus."

"So it will," Severus agreed in a low voice, kissing her gently and reluctantly got up, knowing even as she recovered that the school still needed him, and he had a great deal of work to catch up on as they awaited a day when Alicia, too, would be strong enough to be awoken from the spell Jennifer had cast upon her at the end.

In the meantime, Francis worked uncomplainingly at helping Severus restore the paintings and keep up with his classes, speaking little outside of his classroom for days with the exception of Severus' own queries either on the paintings or how his students were doing. A warm front brought on an early spring before Severus brought up anything else, other than encouraging Francis to visit Alicia often to keep her company, although why, Francis wasn't sure, since she had yet to awaken. Jennifer, on the other hand, had been getting stronger by the day, and at least in attitude seemed her normal self. And so it happened that one Friday evening as Francis was getting his breakfast, there was an unexpected knock from the Headmaster on his office door, for he didn't often bother him just before his classes began. Quickly Francis put the pouch down and waved the door open, the Headmaster glancing around thoughtfully as he entered and closed the door behind himself.

"Sorry. Finish," Severus said, noticing the sheepskin pouch out, and reluctantly Francis turned back to it. Severus spent the time gazing up at the painting of Alicia, now prominent on the wall, for Francis had decided over a week ago that there was no point in hiding it any longer. "It really is the best work of art you have ever painted, Pyther," Severus declared after he had viewed it for several minutes.

"Thank you, sir. It means a lot to me to hear you say so," Francis said sincerely, discarding the pouch. "What was it you needed to speak to me about?"

"I was wondering if you have had any second thoughts about your resolve and how we were to go about it," Severus said bluntly. "Especially in light of everything that's happened since we last spoke of it."

"What's happened hardly changes anything, Severus. I am still what I am," Francis said quietly.

"Perhaps, but you may have changed my mind," Severus said quietly.

"If anything, sir, I am more resolved, not less," Francis said, glancing up at the Alicia painting momentarily before looking back to Severus' searching gaze. "I will not subject her to darkness any more than I am prepared to continue living in it. If it means my death, so be it, as long as she does not soon follow in my path."

"Fine, then I suggest you spend some time after you last class preparing some notes for Tonks. We'll be leaving an hour or two before dawn," Severus said.

"Tonight sir?" Francis said in surprise.

"Doctor Sagittari has released Jennifer to spend the weekend in our rooms and she should be ready for class on Monday. Tonight is the last you will need to teach, although I trust you will not hint as much to your students," Severus said, Francis nodding numbly in response. "Sagittari has also decided it was safe enough to release Alicia from her current state long enough to put her under a normal sleeping draught. That will have to be done tonight just before we go."

"I'm not sure how it would matter, sir," Francis admitted.

"It matters a great deal, Francis," Severus sighed. "Because Alicia is under the Cosmic Sleep spell." Francis suddenly stared at him in alarm, putting a hand on his desk to steady himself. "And I certainly can't go out there and administrate your death until you have dispelled her. At the same time, I have no intention of allowing you to linger, either. To have her wake at that point and make her believe for one instant that everything is going to be all right would be a farce, and it would do nothing but increase the blow to her heart when she recovers enough to hear it. I will not have it, Francis," Severus said firmly. "If she wakes thinking that kiss is but a dream, she will not forsake the life you saved bringing her out of that mess in the paintings. She will be indebted to you to live, and we need to keep it that way. Do you understand?" Francis nodded slowly.

"But what if I cannot awaken her, Severus?" he asked quietly.

"We wouldn't be doing any of this right now if you couldn't, Francis," Severus said bluntly, glancing at the painting one last time before sweeping back out of the room to allow Francis time to reflect.

Upstairs, Jennifer was busy frowning at the trays in Severus' sitting room, staring at the baklava. On a whim she poured a sip of coffee into a cup, tested it, and found herself frowning, knowing it was the Kingler's blend. Growing in suspicion, Jennifer opened the door to the Headmaster's Study and pushed back the curtain, walking in the room to find it neat as a pin. She stared at Caprica still hanging on the wall, while Dippet snoozed beside her.

"Something wrong, Jennifer?" Caprica asked, but Jennifer ignored her, going over to his closed appointment book and turned it to the next day. There were no entries. Jennifer shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment. But Caprica cleared her throat, and Jennifer looked over to her.

"He's on his way up," Caprica said somberly. Jennifer nodded to her.

"Thank you," Jennifer said, closing the book and heading back into the sitting room, sitting down on the couch with the first Potion test she could grab and pretended she hadn't noticed anything at all. When he finally entered, she scowled at him in apparent annoyance, shaking her head at him. "There you are! Asking me to meet you in here only to walk in and find our food getting cold."

"Sorry, I had to take care of something trivial," Severus said, closing the door.

"And is that what you told them when you left to come up here? That you were going to take care of something trivial?" she challenged him mischievously.

"I would never use you in the same sentence as trivial," Severus said defensively.

"Oh? Well, what about our trips to Ashley's dress shop?" she asked, straightening up the table as if she had been sitting there all afternoon.

"Did I or did I not buy you that gift certificate for all that custom work at her shop during the auction?" he retorted, going over to help her clean.

"Yes, you spoil me so much that we didn't cover anywhere near what we put out on that loan," Jennifer scolded him.

"I don't care about that. I wouldn't have cared if we hadn't recovered any of it considering what it was for," Severus said bluntly, putting the tray on the table. "And I don't care how much any bauble I have bought you over the years might have cost either, it's a small price to pay having you around me, let alone having them to remember me by if anything ever did happen to me."

"Why, Severus," Jennifer said, strangely calm. "Is there something you want to tell me?" Severus glanced over with a frown, noticing her sudden change of behavior.

"You know already," he said with certainty.

"I know already," Jennifer said with a nod. Severus slumped and sat down, drawing her into his arms.

"I knew I should have spoken to Aurelius about it," Severus murmured.

"You would have had to tell me sooner or later," Jennifer said softly back. "Although I think you've known since Christmas."

"That attempting to save Pyther would be just as dangerous to me as to him?" Severus said, Jennifer nodding in response. "Yes, I knew. But just as you had to take a chance going in to save Alicia, I have my own part to play in this, Jennifer. Not to mention the fact of the matter that if it hadn't been for Icarus telling me about all this eight years ago, I wouldn't be alive right now. I never would have known that I had a choice to live, let alone would I have chosen to live. I cannot walk away now even if I wanted to, my conscience wouldn't let me," Severus murmured. "And if I am truly on borrowed time, Jennifer, the payment is overdue. You and I have a lifetime of memories and children and grandchildren to our credit. But if there's even a chance, as slender as it may be, that I may be able to salvage this curse so that one of our children could experience such lives as we have had together, I must try, Jennifer, I must."

"I know," Jennifer said softly. Severus gazed at her for a long time, admiring her face, but wishing he could brush away the sad look in her eyes.

"For someone who knows so much, you certainly are making me do a lot of talking," Severus protested in a low voice.

"Then don't talk," Jennifer suggested, her eyes never leaving his. Suddenly deciding that was the best idea he had heard all evening, Severus leaned over and kissed her.

In some ways it seemed only minutes later that Severus found himself slipping out of bed and gently kissing his sleeping wife. He forced himself into a cold shower to try to refresh himself after a mere two hours of sleep, knowing he would have to have to have his full senses and strength that morning. He paused long enough to eat some of the dinner that had gone untouched that evening, daring to reheat the coffee with a spell and wincing at the bitter flavor but still managing to get it down. He slipped into the Study only long enough to glance at the map and double check to make sure everything was clear in the notes on his desk before heading off to find Francis hanging paintings back up in the main stairwell. Francis glanced up when he felt a presence behind him, unsurprised to see Severus stepping down to his level, gazing at him questioningly.

"Just trying to get the last of the paintings back in place, Severus," Francis said quietly.

"So I see," Severus said expressionlessly. "But we really must be off. It is nearly four-thirty, and I wanted out of here before five. Sagittari is probably already waiting for us…although you might want to grab a heavier coat or something, a bit damp out there this morning with the fog…" Francis rolled is eyes.

"Rather pointless to concern yourself with my welfare now, don't you think so, Severus? For some reason I don't think it's going to matter whether I'm cold or not," Francis said.

"Suit yourself, it was merely an observation," Severus said with a shrug, turning towards the hospital wing and Francis found he rather regretted losing his temper, knowing it was simply his anxiety at work. It didn't help that when they arrived the centaur was standing alone in the dark, staring out at the stars. Francis wondered what sort of things the centaur had seen, for his expression was very solemn. "We're here, Doctor," Severus said, the centaur turning about and nodding in response.

"Very well. Let me enter first, that way I will not be in the way when you make your exit," Sagittari said, heading towards the back room while Severus put a hand on Francis' shoulder.

"Don't forget what I said, Pyther," Severus said in a low voice. "Do what you must without a word and get out that door as quickly as possible." Francis simply nodded in response, following behind the centaur while Severus behind him, staying in the doorway.

Nervously Francis sat by the bed, gazing at the grey, still, young woman lying in the bed, watching her for a long moment having to convince himself that she was indeed still alive. He glanced over his shoulder conscientiously, wishing he wasn't going to have to do this in public. Severus, having been in the situation more than once himself, knew what the other man was thinking, but also knew he couldn't quite trust him. As it turned out, it was a good thing that he had not. For after Francis finally gathered the courage to lean over and give Alicia a gentle kiss, he was struck by how cold her lips were; and how he couldn't feel her breath on his face…and why was she still so grey?

"Damn it, man, don't be a fool!" Severus hissed harshly, tugging Francis by the collar and forcing him out the door, despite his obvious reluctance to leave. "Have you lost your head?" he whispered as he brought the door to a close and then listened quietly a moment. Suddenly he moved back from the door, pulling Francis back with him out of the view of the door as the doctor slowly clopped out, gazing at them with a frown before shutting the door again. "How is she?" Severus asked evenly.

"She is sleeping comfortably now," Sagittari said solemnly.

"Thank you, Doctor Sagittari," Severus said with a nod, pulling Francis with him out the door.

"Wait! Does that mean I woke her or didn't I?" Francis wanted to know.

"No, Pyther, I rather like the idea of my daughter being unconscious forever, so I think I'm going to kill you before you try for seconds. Of course you woke her. Sagittari simply gave her something to sleep more naturally," Severus explained. "All she needs now is time," he added in a quieter tone. "She'll be fine. Now come, I'd like to get settled so I have some time to prepare for this mentally before dawn."

"I wouldn't mind that myself as well," Francis murmured. "Where are we going?"

"We need to get away from these mountains so I can see clearly, but I have somewhere it mind. It isn't far," Severus said, stepping out into the fog.

But when he got past the gate, Severus paused, staring at the castle as if momentarily deep in thought. Francis gazed at him curiously, unsure of why he had stopped, but before he could get the courage to ask, Severus turned away again and led him deep into the Dark Forest.

It was frightfully cold; not the cold Francis remembered in Polaris Town, but a damp penetrating cold that made him shiver to try and keep the blood within him moving properly, wishing that he had taken Severus' advice and gotten a warmer coat. No, Francis thought to himself, comfort was not important now. Nothing was important except for what they were planning to do. He glanced over at Severus, as calm and collected as if on a casual stroll. And why shouldn't he be calm, Francis thought angrily, it wasn't his life on the line. Francis sighed softly to himself. This was definitely not the time to start having misgivings.

If Severus was aware of Francis' nervousness, he made no sign. Instead he was intent on their path, a wisplight in hand as they walked. Severus then paused at a large boulder and then looked up towards a barren hill.

"Come, Pyther," Severus said evenly as he stepped out of the trees. The ground was charred and rocky, and Francis could see that the trees surrounding it were dark or split; some strangely bent, twisted, or knotted. Small patches of early spring weeds clung to the battered soil here and there, but for the most part, it seemed a rather lonely hill, standing almost like an island in an expanse of trees. He stopped when he reached to top and gazed out into the twilight, his expression distant, unreachable.

"We are staying here, sir?" Francis asked uncertainly, gazing around the dismal place.

"Do you believe in Fate, Francis?" Severus asked out of the blue, not really looking at him.

"I…I don't really know anymore," Francis admitted, Severus nodding in understanding.

"Well, you are standing just about where I had stood when I died one night," Severus said, Francis gazing at him in confusion. "This is where the defeat of Ciardoth took place, and where I once cheated death. Perhaps that irony will rub off on you," he said dryly glancing over at Francis' stunned expression. "Yes, well, that, and the damage we did to the area that night gives us a clear view of the eastern sky, so I'll know if the spells I need to cast on you are working properly or not when the sun begins to rise."

Francis glanced up at the sky, but the stars had already begun to fade.

"Which way is east, sir?" Francis asked quietly. Severus got his watch out and flipped it open.

"That way, I believe," Severus said, pointing off in a direction. "Now I'm going to see what I can do to get this fog to lift and prepare. I suggest you find a way to steel yourself for this by whatever means necessary, because it's imperative you stay calm and collected through this or we're not going to have a chance in hell of pulling it off."

"As if we were already had a chance to begin with," Francis said with a sigh. "All the same, thank you, sir, for attempting it."

"You can thank me most by keeping your head no matter what happens, Francis," Severus said bluntly, then took a few steps away from him and closed his eyes.

Francis sighed and turned to the east, watching as the sky went from black to dark blue. It was then that he realized he could see black shadows in the distance…clouds, he realized, as the fog faded around him, making for a much clearer view. A wave of panic swept through as he noticed the sky in the east turn violet, but he forced it back, sinking to his knees to keep himself from running, for there would be no running this time. Francis closed his eyes, attempting to quell the fear running through him.

"Dear Lord," Francis murmured softly. "I have been cursed with the evil mankind inflicts upon itself, an abomination of six hundred years, time borrowed thanks to the generosity of others. But vampire though I may be, I have at least attempted to lead a clean existence; respected life in all forms knowing well how much they take it for granted, and have given back with my talents and myself as best I could. And if it's my fate to die at dawn, I only pray that there is something left of my soul to salvage. I would very much like to ascend," he said in a whisper. "Of course, I would also like to live, if that is your will, for Alicia's sake if not my own. But no matter my fate, I hope at least you'll forgive me my sins and silliness over the years, and hope that something of my time on this earth made a difference in some small way."

Francis slowly opened his eyes as his fears slowly subsided only to see that the sky had turned to pink and gold; the dark clouds in the distance now lavender as they drifted off in the distance. It would have seemed quite beautiful in any other set of circumstances. He found himself thinking of the morning he had painted a similar sunrise, not so long before he had died. His thoughts then turned to the day he and Alicia watched the painting replay that memory, wondering if she would ever go there again when he was gone. How he missed her already! How much he should have said! He had wanted to speak to her about what happened in the paintings…perhaps even scold her for getting herself in that position in the first place, all because she wanted to tell him she wouldn't be happy without him…he wanted to live, he decided. He had to live.

Suddenly he felt strange, as if a loose rope had been looped several times over the top of him and then tightened into a coil, despite the fact there was nothing there. He felt a presence around him, and wondered at first if it was his father, until he heard the voice in his head. _Clear your head. Meditate. Relax, but stay focused. Do not forget why we're here._ The voice coming from inside his head was Severus; that much he was certain of, although he wasn't quite sure how. He saw a sliver of sunlight, and closed his eyes, afraid that its approach would inspire another round of panic as he attempted to do as he was told. But it was so very hard to stay calm.

Severus opened his eyes with a frown, concerned over how difficult it was for Francis to keep calm but knowing there was very little he could do about it. He watched the sun steadily, knowing he would have to begin soon. As the sliver began to widen, Severus raised his hands and began to chant; softly at first, but growing louder even as the sun began to grow over the horizon. It was a chant carefully intermingled with two spells; one to restore the body, one to expel the curse. But neither of those elements was of concern to Severus at that moment, for neither was as dangerous as the battle going on within Francis.

For pain began to grow upon the surface of Francis' skin from the strengthening light, and he began to wonder if there was any hope of this working at all. _Steady. We are just beginning._ Just beginning? Francis didn't like the sound of that, nor did he like the fact that he was now being told it was much too late to back out. _Do not do this, Francis,_ the voice in his head persisted. _Do not die a coward._ Francis slapped away the voice angrily, the burning on his skin more intense now. As if Severus could have done any better under the circumstances, Francis thought. _For Jennifer, I would have,_ the voice snapped back, and Francis couldn't help but be surprised at the strong wave of emotion that had been attached to that statement.

Severus retreated a moment, as much to steady the chant as to back away from Francis, who had picked up a lot more of Severus' thoughts than Severus was comfortable with. This could have been Severus, Francis realized, feeling a little strange at that discovery. And as much as Severus had reinforced how dismal the chances were ever since it had come up, Francis knew now that Severus wanted him to survive as much as Francis did; for Francis' sake as well as his daughters'. It was a rather stunning revelation, considering Francis had always felt that Severus had never liked him. But somehow Francis understood now that Severus' dislike had been directly connected to his dislike and fear of himself. He must have seen something of himself in Francis…but that was silly, Francis thought in surprise, for they were nothing alike! Severus certainly was no coward, nor did he ever hesitate to act when he had the power. _Yes, well, you didn't know me at twenty-three either,_ an annoyed thought rang out. Curiosity overwhelmed Francis, so much so that he was quite detached from the pain wracking his corpse at that moment. _You really ought to be concerning yourself with other things. Like keeping yourself here._ But would they ever speak about it again? _Perhaps, if you insisted. And only if you live._ Yes, well, there was that, Francis thought. But he really didn't want to concentrate much on what his body was going through.

It was only then that he finally realized that he wasn't even in it, and hadn't been for quite some time. Instead he was floating just above it, and although he couldn't really see even a ghostly form of himself he saw quite plainly now that he was being held in place by a silver cord wrapped tightly around him, keeping him from floating away. Surrounding and above him was nothing but light purer than sunlight, and somehow more real; it was only when he looked down that he saw the world as Severus saw it; full of matter…emotion…pain…violence…evil…fear… in fact, it didn't really look that appealing at all. Why would anyone want to be there? Francis began to inspect the cord, wondering if he could get it off without damaging it, although he wasn't quite sure why it mattered. _There is more to life than what you mentioned, Francis. So much more that perhaps you hadn't yet discovered, dying as young as you did. Love. Joy. Growth. The challenge of improving oneself. The satisfaction of helping others learn from your mistakes so they don't make them. Not to mention the satisfaction of overcoming the obstacles you just mentioned, even if momentarily. Life is experience; life is something that shouldn't be taken for granted. I heard you say it yourself a moment ago._ Yes, Francis supposed that he did, although he wasn't quite sure now if he meant it. It didn't seem to matter much anymore. _Does Alicia not matter much anymore either?_ Of course she did, but they both knew she'd be better off without him than cursed as a vampire. _She will want to see you, when she awakens. Do you not want to see her?_ Well, yes, Francis thought. But sooner or later, he would see her anyway, even if he left now. He could wait. _But can she? She still has her life to live; a life that will never be the same for her if you don't return. Yes, sooner or later she will move on from your memory and make a life for herself, but she would be scarred, wishing every day of the rest of her life that things had been different, missing your presence with every breath. A very long life at that, too, considering I had to give her a dose of Elixir to save her life._

Perhaps then it'd been a lot easier on both of us if you hadn't and let her go, Francis mused, as he experimentally tugged at the cord. _I didn't want her to go! At the time, you didn't want her to go! I don't want you to go either, or myself for that matter, although I've had my own misgivings about the subject from time to time. But Jennifer needs me here, just as Alicia needs you here. And I'll be damned if I'm going to allow you to put me through all of this just for you to forget what's at stake because of your own selfishness!_

Suddenly, Francis found himself looking at a painting…Alicia's painting…the last painting he had truly put his heart and soul into, along with every memory and every experience they had had, all layered together to create the person she now was. The good and the bad experiences combined had their place; just as her own faults had her place, curiously present despite the painting's obvious perfection. How such obvious imperfections could lead to perfection, Francis couldn't understand, even standing on the edge of eternity as he was. He thought he would have understood, here of all places. It seemed to make more sense that the answer to that question would come readily at his ascent. And yet…somehow…somehow, he knew it was not there at all. Instead, the true answer to how imperfection could be perfect was within the boundaries of life itself. The aches and pains, the good and evil, the wants and fears…all played a part, all played a balance. And for whatever reason, he had been given a chance to find that answer. To undo the mistake he made six hundred years ago…or had he? Where would he have been without that mistake? Where would he have been without Alicia? And where would her life go from there, with, or without him? As the questions began to flood over him, he knew at last that he wanted to find out those answers for himself, no matter what terrible consequences came with it. Perhaps it was better to live after all. Perhaps with Alicia at his side, they could work those answers out together…

Francis's soul suddenly fell back into his body with such force that it knocked Severus off his feet, disrupting his chant and leaving him extremely disoriented as his cord unwound itself from Francis on its own. Cursing the abrupt ending to the chant, Severus scrambled over to Francis' side; his body restored, but apparently still not wanting to function. He had hoped the mere presence of Francis' soul would have done it, but apparently that was not the case, and Severus found himself pounding on Francis' chest to get his heart pumping and breathing air into his lungs until finally he began to breathe on his own but slowly, erratically. Severus sighed and whipped out the Elixir again, reluctantly dripping a few drops in his mouth.

"Oh well, at least they'll be even, I suppose," Severus muttered to himself and listened to his chest again while still monitoring his breathing. Finally, Francis began to cough, and Severus moved out of the way just in time as Francis suddenly sat up, rolled to one side, and began throwing up blood. Severus grimaced but kept himself from leaving his side, helping to steady him.

"Oh no, I'm still dying!" Francis said in distress.

"That, if I'm not mistaken, was your last meal," Severus said tiredly. "I imagine a full pouch of blood is not easy on a human stomach."

"Human?" Francis repeated in surprise, gazing at him in confusion.

"Look up, Francis," Severus said, and Francis slowly turned his head.

He blinked at the blinding light that met his eyes for a moment, using his hand to shield it until they finally began to adjust. But at last he was able to move away his arm and found himself staring in complete shock at the rising sun just as it had begun to clear the horizon. He gazed at it for a long time, a flood of emotions racing in, crashing with memories of his youth until it finally overwhelmed him and he burst into tears…real tears, not the dry tears of a vampire, but true, wet tears.

Severus let out an exhausted sigh and laid down on his back, studying the ring on his hand for a long time until the steel grey color finally turned to a more contented blue tinged with a swirl of relief as his wife realized that he, at least, must have survived. He closed his eyes for a moment until he noticed that Francis had finally stopped crying, and Severus glanced up to see him sitting up looking rather blotchy and uncomfortable.

"Ready to move yet?" Severus inquired, sitting back up himself.

"I don't know. I am still queasy, and I have a monstrous headache," Francis murmured.

"Hardly surprising, is it? You've been staring at the sun for the better part of an hour when your eyes aren't used to it, and you're expelling water when your body had none but what my spell put in it to get it functioning," Severus said, taking out a phial from his cloak. "Here, water. I'd take only a sip, if I were you…" Severus warned him. "And you may want to get yourself a pair of sunglasses to wear for a few weeks." Francis took a sip, nodded, and intended on explaining that he already had had a pair for Muggle encounters, but simply ended up getting sick again. "All right, come on, let's try and get you as far as the stream, at least, so you can wash up. Get up, Francis. You do remember how to walk still, I hope. I'm tired as well, but the sooner we get back, the better, but I'm quite sure both of us are too overextended at the moment to try Apparating closer." Severus grabbed his arm and helped him to his feet, and the two began to work their way down the hill.

It proved to be a very slow walk that neither of them would ever forget. Sometimes they would stop just to rest. Other times so that Francis' stomach could finish trying to purge itself. The longest break by far was at the stream; for it was then as he bent over to wash his face that he actually saw it, looking very much as it had six hundred years ago and nothing like it had six hours ago. He stared at his brown and green hazel eyes in surprise. Red as they were, they were nothing as red as he had seen in the mirror in Toby's shop. His hair was curly and brown again, and quite unkempt, although still cut short in a few random places from where Jennifer had snipped it making potions.

"Is anyone going to recognize me?" Francis asked out loud. "Will Alicia even recognize me?"

"I could always make you scream. I'm sure everyone will still recognize that," Severus suggested, leaning on a tree.

"That's hardly funny," Francis said, washing his face and neck and wetting down his hair. "You don't suppose she's going to mind?"

"Considering what you looked like before, I'd say even she might think it a definite improvement," Severus said unconcernedly.

"So um…I suppose now wouldn't be a good time to ask for her hand in marriage then?" Francis said, not daring to look up, watching Severus' reaction from the reflection in the stream. As it turned out, he didn't seem to react at all.

"Francis, there is never a good time to ask that question, no matter who you are," Severus said dryly. "Although why anyone would want only her hand and not the rest of her is beyond me." Francis couldn't help but chuckle.

"Sir, I never realized until now just how much of a sense of humor you had," Francis admitted, a bit uncomfortably aware that some of that had to do with what Francis had experienced when Severus had been talking to him in his head.

"Yes, well, you may keep that knowledge to yourself," Severus said.

"And um, about Alicia?" Francis asked quietly.

"Wouldn't you still marry her whether I approve or not?" Severus challenged him.

"I am hoping not to have to answer that particular question, sir," Francis admitted. Severus' lip twitched momentarily before settling back into his normal expressionless gaze.

"Well, considering that Jennifer already bought Alicia a wedding dress, I have your wedding rings on order, and not to mention what you just put me through trying to keep you on this plane of existence, I would say we would be rather put out if you didn't marry her, Francis Pyther," Severus said. Francis looked up and stared at him. "Aren't you ready to head further on yet?"

"Then you thought I would make it?" Francis said with surprise, falling into step beside him after they crossed the stream.

"Hoped would be the better term," Severus shrugged.

"Despite the odds, sir? Or were the odds better than I was led to believe?" Francis pressed.

"I may have done my best to improve the odds, but they probably weren't all that much better," Severus admitted. "In fact, I nearly lost you a couple of times…the first being when your soul left your corpse on its own right after I expelled the curse; the other of your own choice, I believe…"

"Yes," Francis murmured, "although it all seems a bit hazy now, like a dream. Thank you, sir, for talking me out of it."

"I couldn't have stopped you if you had truly wanted to go, you know," Severus said, pausing a moment so Francis could catch his breath. "Nor would I have even blamed you had you chosen the easier path. But, for reasons all your own, you decided not to run anymore, despite the fact you had nothing to lose by doing so."

"No…no, I had everything to lose," Francis said. "But…I suppose it was a brave decision?"

"It wasn't cowardly," Severus shrugged as they walked out of the Forest. "Other than that, you'll have to decide for yourself."

But as Francis turned around to ponder it, he suddenly stopped short and gaped at the castle, seeing it as he hadn't seen it since he was a boy. Even then his memories fell short to the way he saw it now with clear blue sky behind it, and the windows glistening in the sun; and the reflection in the lake of the castle, mountains and forest so crisp and clear that his newfound human heart skipped a beat to look at it.

"It's beautiful," Francis said, when Severus looked backed at him questioningly. "Really, I don't think there could be a more beautiful place in the entire world!"

"I'm hardly going to disagree with you," Severus said, turning back around and glancing at his watch. "Aren't you coming? I don't know about you, but I myself would like to get back to the hospital wing."

"Oh, yes!" Francis said, and hurried to catch up, his excitement causing his aches and pains to fade momentarily as he followed closely behind.

Students casually walked through the halls, some carrying Quidditch equipment and others gathered with friends to make plans for the day, each group greeting the Headmaster politely, while gazing curiously at the stranger beside him. But even if they hadn't recognized him, Francis got the impression that a great many of the paintings were staring at him as if trying to place where they had seen him before. Suddenly he noticed that one of the paintings seemed to be chasing them from frame to frame and he paused curiously to see which one it was, breaking into a smile when he realized it his was his old schoolmate.

"Francis?" Brunhilda said, laughing in disbelief.

"Good morning, Hildie," Francis smiled at her.

"It really is Francis!" Hildie declared, and suddenly all the paintings in the hall began talking at once and calling his name over and over.

"I hope you weren't planning on having any long term anonymity," Severus said casually.

"Apparently I'm not going to be getting it either way," Francis chuckled. John, who was polishing the banisters, suddenly stopped and gaped at him as they stepped up towards the hospital wing, the paintings nearby giving away who he was.

"Jaysus, Francis, you're gorgeous!" John declared in surprise.

"He's taken," Severus said dryly as they walked past him.

"As am I, but I can look," John protested, while Francis turned bright red in response.

"He had to be the first one to notice, didn't he?" Francis murmured in a low voice, Severus smirking in response before leading him into the hospital wing. Jennifer, who had been standing at the far end of the room speaking to Sagittari suddenly turned and broke into a smile of joy at seeing them both standing there, running up to Severus with a look of such obvious relief that Francis couldn't help but stare.

"Severus! Thank stars you're all right!" Jennifer said before hugging him tightly and kissing him in spite of the audience, Severus glancing around apologetically in response. Jennifer leaned her head against him with a smile, and then noticed the way Francis was staring at her. "Hello, Francis. Welcome back," she said warmly.

"Thank you, Jennifer," Francis said with a frown, ignoring Sagittari who had come over to get a look at him. "Sir, I realize I may be jumping to conclusions based on Jennifer's reaction, but might it be possible that you were put in more danger this morning than what I was led to believe?"

"He was in as much danger as you were," Jennifer said, Severus frowning at her disapprovingly for telling him. "If you had gone when his cord was around you, you'd have pulled him along with you." Francis stared at him in disbelief.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Francis asked.

"Would you have agreed to try if I had?" Severus asked bluntly.

"No, not ever," Francis said fervently.

"Well, then, you have your answer," Severus said unconcernedly. While Francis was busy attempting to formulate some sort of response, he was saved by the presence of Sagittari who had decided to take matters into his own hands by pulling Francis' face over to take a look.

"You should be in bed," he said solemnly. "Your eyes are red, your skin is yellow and quite dehydrated and that is from only a cursory observation, and considering that you were a corpse when I saw you last, I believe you should have a full exam, Mr. Pyther…"

"Oh no you don't! Not yet! I didn't come all the way up here to see Alicia to be stopped at the door, not after what I just went through. I'm going to go see her," Francis said firmly.

"Mr. Pyther…"

"Doctor," Severus interrupted in a tone just as firm as the centaur's. "There is no way in hell that boy is going to cooperate until you let him in to see her, so I suggest you give him permission so that he will be back out here and at your disposal as quickly as possible."

"I do not approve," the centaur said seriously. "But I shall allow you five minutes, provided you promise not to excite her." Severus and Jennifer exchanged private glances, knowing that promise would be broken before it was even agreed to.

"Fine, yes, anything, but please let me see her," Francis begged.

"Very well, I needed to wake her to see if I could get her to drink some broth or something," Sagittari sighed, walking over to the back room to check to check on her.

"I have a feeling she'll be more than willing to cooperate after this too," Jennifer said with a smile.

"I'll see to it," Francis promised when Sagittari came back out, nodding to him.

"Very well, Mr. Pyther. She's still asleep but should be waking soon," he said, holding the door open for him, but still eying him as if he were attempting to decide how to punish him if he upset his patient.

But Francis had missed the scrutiny completely as his eyes fell on Alicia, still very pale but at least not grey anymore, and breathing normally, it seemed; peacefully. He shut the door in the centaur's face and found a stool to pull over to her side, gently picking up her encouragingly warm hand and kissing it lovingly. It was after the fact that he realized that he probably shouldn't have, considering she wasn't likely to recognize him right away. But she had already started to stir so he kept holding onto her hand, smiling lovingly at her when she woke and attempted to focus in on him.

"How did you get in here?" she murmured weakly, wondering where her wand was.

"Your father let me in," Francis admitted with a smile.

Alicia paused a moment, her mind still hazy and tired. It sounded just like Francis, but the sun was beaming down on her face, so she knew that something wasn't right.

"Haven't I seen a painting of you somewhere?" she murmured, trying to place where she had seen that curly chocolate hair before.

"Oh yes, indeed you have," Francis with an adoring look in his eyes that she had only seen coming from one man.

"Francis?" Alicia asked uncertainly, and he and kissed the back of her hand again.

"Yes, my love?" Francis asked with a smile.

"Isn't it daytime?" Alicia said, wondering if she were dreaming.

"So it is, and the most beautiful day any man could dare wish for, and most especially because it's the first day ever that I get to spend with you," he said, grinning at her stunned expression. "And the first of many if I have anything at all to say about it."

Alicia sat up suddenly and Francis put his arms around her, holding her tightly against her as she tried to convince herself it was really him…him, truly him as she had seen him in the paintings at the Louvre she had just begun to know, alive and in the flesh, and not the grey, tortured shadow of a man that she had known all her life.

"You're so warm!" Alicia observed, laughing through her tears.

"Yes, so are you," Francis said in a strangely mischievous tone she'd never heard before. Alicia pulled back to try to kiss him, but he quickly pulled his chin up. "Ah, no…you don't want to do that," he warned with a chuckle. "You just wouldn't_ believe_ the morning I've had."

"Of course I want to kiss you. How else am I going to believe that this isn't just some dream or hoax or something and I'll wake up to find you're no more alive than you were the last time I've seen you?" Alicia protested, trying to get him to look at her.

"Well, yes, but…" Francis made the mistake of looking down and Alicia kissed him happily, but then blinked and backed away, making a face at him.

"Yuck," she said, but then grinned.

"Well, I did try to warn you," Francis said, and the two of them began to chuckle so loudly that Sagittari finally could stand no more of it and went in to pull them apart.


	44. A New Dawn Rising

_A/N Second Chapter for the day. Epilogue to follow shortly. _

Chapter Forty-Four

A New Dawn Rising

Like all good rumors at Hogwarts, the word of Pyther's human condition spread quickly through the castle. So many people had wanted to see him, students and staff alike, that the hospital wing turned into a circus; and it didn't help when word got out and several different papers from all over showed up hoping to get a picture.

Jennifer had just managed to find and kick the fourth of those sorts of uninvited guests off the property when she saw Ron leaning on the gate with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face, despite the fact she was scowling at him.

"Hi, just came to see Hermione for a bit," Ron said.

"Yeah, right," Jennifer said, folding her arms. "She's not going to buy it any more than I am."

"Well, I admit, I might stop by and say a quick hello to Francis if it's okay with you. Just as a friend," Ron explained.

"Have you suddenly forgotten that the current head of security in this school is a Truth Seeker?" she asked dangerously.

"Nope," Ron said. "That's why I decided to wait here at the gate instead of go in on my own, just in case."

"Wise move," Jennifer said dryly. "Fine! But I am going to escort you…and supervise."

"Thanks, Jennifer, I knew you'd understand."

"Only too well," Jennifer said as they walked in, never letting him leave her sight.

"Here it is!" Constance declared the next morning after her owl dropped off the_ Daily Prophet._ "'Famous Undead Vampire Declared Alive,'" Connie smirked. "Well, I suppose it's not everyday you declare someone 'alive' instead of 'dead', I suppose."

"Ya, ya, just keep readin'," Lucky said.

"'Professor Severus Snape, current Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Wizardry, has issued a statement to the public that Mr. Francis Pyther, well-known vampire wizard painter, has survived a previously known but high-risk countercurse to restore him to his previous state prior to his death-by-vampirism. Mr. Pyther had recently left Professor Snape's employ after serving as a substitute at the school and is a long time acquaintance of the Snape family, so Snape volunteered to conduct the procedure. According to Snape, Mr. Pyther then underwent a basic physical by the school doctor before being transferred to St. Mungo's for further testing, and is said to have taken up residence in an undisclosed location so that he can, in Snape's words, 'regain his humanity in peace.' For more on this subject, see 'Interview with an Ex-Vampire; Editor's Exclusive' on page three.'" Connie read, flipping the pages.

"I bet most of that is going to be about the wedding," Lucky said as Connie skimmed it. "I know that's all he was talkin' about when I went up to visit Alicia last night. They want to get married here in the castle on Easter if the Professor can manage to get it all arranged that fast…probably in the afternoon, 'cuz Pyther said something about wanting to go back to church."

"If you were suddenly brought to life after being dead six hundred years wouldn't you want to go back to church?" Connie inquired.

"Yeah, you got a point," Lucky said. "Apparently he's Catholic like me, too."

"Probably because back when he was born everyone in Europe was Catholic," Connie said with a smirk. "What is Alicia?"

"I think she's of Craw faith," Lucky grinned. "It's one of those 'kill them all and let God sort them out' types of religions."

"That does sound like Craw philosophy," Tim agreed. "Do you suppose everyone who stays here that weekend will get to go to the wedding?"

"I don't think so, but I heard Professor Craw say everyone's going to get to go to the reception at dinner," Lucky said. "Sounds like you guys get the better end of the deal. You don't have to get dressed up in front of everybody and have to stand there and hear a Snape speech."

"Hey, here's something you may not know about yet," Connie said, stopping to read something more carefully. "Did you know that Pyther's retiring from painting?"

"You're kidding!" Reggie said in surprise, and then snorted. "Boy, I bet his investors are going to be glad to hear that."

"It says here that Mr. Pyther has confided to the editor…confided, yeah right, like everyone doesn't know Uncle Ron better than that…that although he has long enjoyed being an artist, he has decided with his second chance at life to 'pursue other avenues' and that 'one artist in the family is more than enough. Two would have been disastrous.' Although the editor wasn't able to gain any comments from Mr. Pyther on what avenues he plans to pursue, the editor has since learned from another reliable source that Mr. Pyther has been studying for a formal teaching license."

"And you know what that means," Reggie said darkly.

"Yeah, it means Aunt Hermione is going to kill him when she sees the paper and finds out he used her as a 'reliable source' again," Tim said.

"No doubt," Reggie smirked. The others grinned at each other knowingly and finally turned their attention to their food.

Severus Snape stared blankly into the wardrobe in his sitting room; supposedly the one reserved for his formal Headmaster robes. He sighed and had to use both hands to extract a pile of dresses out, tossing them on the couch with the shake of his head before actually finding the robes he had been looking for. Just then, Jennifer swept in from the bedroom in a soft indigo lace dress, frowning when she saw him standing there.

"Aren't you ready yet? I thought you'd be downstairs by now," she said disapprovingly, then noticed the couch. "My new dresses! Tossed about like discarded bathroom towels!" she exclaimed in horror, stopping to rescue them.

"For some reason I highly doubt you came in here to scold me about your dresses considering you had been trying to borrow my personal closet space again. What was it that you were after?" Severus asked as he put on his robes.

"Um…I forgot," Jennifer admitted. Severus rolled his eyes, and then opened his cufflink drawer, staring into it.

"Did I, or did I not just buy you a new jewelry box a couple of months ago?" Severus asked flatly.

"Aha! My new earrings! I knew they'd be in here somewhere," Jennifer said as she dug them out, ignoring the look Severus was giving her. "By the way, Monsieur Merle and his escort are here. I showed him in just before I headed back up."

"You didn't tell Pyther, did you?" Severus asked.

"No, Severus, and right now I think he's too nervous to have noticed. In fact, I heard Corey and Andrew both threatened to tie him down and pour Wailing Inis down his throat," Jennifer said, grinning impishly.

"I had better get down there," Severus decided, quickly tying back his hair.

"Yes, I think you're right," Jennifer agreed and kissed him. "If you see Houdini somewhere, could you pocket him? Lucky got it into her head to bring him to breakfast this morning to play 'Easter Bunny' and nobody has seen him since."

"Joy," Severus said dryly as Jennifer whisked back through to her sitting room with the other girls. Severus shook his head and glanced at himself one last time before he wondered what he did with his notes, walking into the Headmaster's Study. He paused only long enough to hide his spectacles in his pocket in case he needed them, and tuck his notes in his cuff before he walked towards the doors, but the sound of someone clearing their throat made him pause and turn around. Sighing since there was only one painting in the room at the moment, Severus went over to the easel and pulled the cover off of the Merlin painting that Pyther had done before Dumbledore's first visit to Tir Na Nog.

"Good Afternoon, I assume the three of you got back all right," Severus said.

"Yes, we did, Severus, thank you for inquiring," Merlin smiled. "But I hope you will humor us and make sure plenty of photos are taken at the wedding, especially of the dresses. Minerva was rather insistent about it," he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"I'm sure there will be, although hopefully with a lack of me in them," Severus said briskly.

"Well, I doubt it, but for the cameras' sakes I hope so," Merlin teased.

"I trust this conversation isn't for the sole purpose of jibing me about my appearance," Severus retorted.

"No, actually, I simply wanted to ask you a favor," Merlin said. Severus squinted. "Oh, don't worry, Severus, it's a fairly quick and painless one. I just happened to lend a sketch to the school some years ago for…security reasons…and I'd rather appreciate it if you'd reacquire it so I can have it back during my next visit."

"A sketch?" Severus repeated with a frown.

"A sketch of Stonehenge. It didn't ah…well, it didn't make your painting inventory list if you must know, but it wasn't in any real danger. The portrait of me in the Sentinels painting can help you find it. I imagine he'll be going to the wedding with the others."

"I suppose it'd be too much to ask when and why the sketch was left here in the first place?" Severus asked warily, but Merlin smiled at him tolerantly.

"I left it in the castle the very first night we met, Severus, just before that Sentinel painting was painted, because I had a feeling you might need to borrow it for awhile," he explained. "You see, I remembered some of Alicia too, Severus, and I knew when she got to school you would have a very difficult time keeping her there if I didn't do something, and I was also worried about the memory I had of the paintings and what you've just been through. So I rigged the sketch to work like the actual Stonehenge; except instead of acting as a switchboard for portals, it was a switchboard for paintings."

"That's how you kept the paintings internally linked for all these years," Severus said in realization. "And how you kept Alicia from traveling in and out of the castle."

"Quite correct, although it wasn't active right away," Merlin said with a nod. "When Alicia came to the castle, I had asked my other painting to keep a careful eye on her in case she tried to bolt, and when it became obvious the two of you weren't likely to get on well together in the classroom, he activated the sketch. It's been on ever since, but now it's not really needed here anymore. The threat directly against the paintings is gone, and Alicia is all grown up and soon to be in good hands. Once the sketch is removed, the paintings should be able to communicate with their other selves outside the castle like they could in the old days, and Alicia will be able to get in and out when required. And I think, Severus, you'll find her a very powerful ally now that she has finally realized that her father is on her side after all," Merlin smiled but then held up a finger. "But I would keep a much closer eye on Caprica from now on, if I were you. Two if you could spare them, although four would be ideal."

"I was rather hoping I could lull her back to sleep for another decade or three," Severus admitted. Merlin chuckled.

"There are still some earthshaking events left to come in your immediate future, Severus," Merlin warned him, Severus looking positively unthrilled at that news. "Some I remember clearly and others…strangely, not so much," Merlin murmured as if trying to work that out but then shrugged. "Anyhow, do remove the sketch when you think of it and bring it to Toby's, if you happen to see the shop about. And take good care of that son of mine, Severus. I'm rather proud of how he's turned out."

"Yes, so am I…so far," Severus said, knowing that bumpier days were likely to come as Ambrose grew older. Merlin nodding knowingly and then waved, the drape suddenly falling over the painting of its own accord.

Severus grew thoughtful as he left the room, heading down the back stairwell, which had finally been completely repaired…progress, at least. Several students were still lingering in the Great Hall after lunch, staring in awe at all the paintings crowded into every available space on the wall, all talking excitedly about the upcoming wedding. Severus quickly shooed the last of the students away so that the House Elves could finish getting the Hall ready for guests, and then walked over to greet Jean Merle and the two guards that had come with him, speaking with them a few moments before finally excusing himself and slipping into the staff room where all the men in the room had cornered Morfinn Bliant, who was shaking his head with his arms crossed.

"Oh, come on, Morfinn, one single bite isn't going to hurt him," Corey sighed.

"If he isn't ready, he isn't ready," Morfinn said back. "I seriously doubt anyone wants Francis getting sick on his wedding day."

"Well, I am feeling a bit nauseous," Francis admitted.

"See? There you are," Morfinn said.

"Him being nauseous right now has nothing to do with his liquid diet," Andrew chuckled.

"Actually I'm on a soft diet now, soups, that sort of thing. I had porridge this morning," Francis said, although his expression clearly indicated that he didn't particularly care for it.

"Cake is soft," Ben put in.

"Not soft enough, and much too rich. It'll come right back up again," Morfinn said, shaking his head.

"It can't be as bad to his system as his nails, considering he's biting them again," Aurelius pointed out. Francis gave him a dirty look as Morfinn scolded him and several others began ribbing him about it.

"Dad?" Corey said, finally noticing him standing there. "Would you please tell Bliant it's all right for Pyther to have a bit of his own wedding cake?"

"Is he Pyther's doctor, or am I?" Morfinn asked in annoyance, drawing himself up.

"Dad?" Corey said again and ignoring Morfinn, knowing perfectly well he would back down if Severus intervened.

"Morfinn, is ice cream acceptable?" Severus asked expressionlessly, and everyone turned to stare at him. Severus kept his eyes fixed on Morfinn, who finally nodded.

"Provided that the flavoring is mild, yes, he can handle that," Morfinn agreed.

"Fine, I'll work something out," Severus said.

"I can't believe you're taking his side!" Andrew exclaimed.

"It goes against tradition, Dad," Corey complained as well.

"Yes, well, the fact that Morfinn Bliant is willing to go toe to toe with four members of the Snape family plus one soon-to-be member over this 'trivial matter' is enough to convince me he must have valid concerns. Doctor's orders," Severus said firmly, watching his sons back down while Morfinn broke out into a winning smile. "Francis, might I see you for a moment?"

"Of course, sir," Francis said, quickly getting up.

"You can still call me Severus, you know," Severus sighed.

"Not likely ever again, sir," Francis said respectfully. Aurelius snickered softly as Francis followed Severus out of the room. He was a little surprised, however, when Severus simply went in the next door into the Great Hall. Jean, who had been studying many of the paintings with a critical eye, glanced up when they came in and smiled warmly. "Why, Monsieur Merle! Whatever are you doing here?" he asked with surprise.

"My party and I are the guests of the Headmaster for the day, sir," Jean said, offering his hand. "And I would like to formerly congratulate you in both your recovery and your marriage on behalf of the museum."

_"Merci beaucoup,_ Monsieur Merle," Francis said emphatically.

"Although, Monsieur Pyther, we were wondering, that is to say…we heard of your retirement, of course…"

"There will never be another sunrise painting, Monsieur Merle," Francis reassured him with a smile, Jean looking openly relieved. "Oh, I'm sure I'll get in the mood to sketch Alicia or another family member now and then for personal reasons, but I won't pick up a brush again; I have no need to nor desire to and I don't expect that to ever change."

"I understand, monsieur, although, if you ever change you mind…"

"I won't," Francis said with a smile. Severus cleared his throat.

"Perhaps Francis would be interested in the reason for your visit, Jean," Severus suggested.

"Oh! Yes of course," Jean chuckled. "We're here as an escort for a painting, on special loan du Louvre du Magie, a one day engagement," he explained, and then gestured over to the wall where the two robed guards were standing. Francis stared at him a moment stunned, recognizing the painting at once even from a distance, and then turned to look at Severus who simply stood watching him calmly.

"Your doing, sir?" Francis asked.

"I may have pulled a few strings," Severus shrugged. Francis glanced at the painting then at the smiling Jean then back to Severus.

"You are absolutely amazing," Francis declared.

"I hope you don't expect me to deny it," Severus said expressionlessly. Francis simply grinned in disbelief before walking over to over to the _Family Portrait_. Allowing himself a momentary private smile, Severus quickly excused himself from Jean and headed off towards the kitchens.

Francis chuckled softly to himself when he saw that little Francis and his parents weren't alone, for the portrait of Alicia had snuck over at some point and had sat down near Matilda, apparently having borrowed a tray of tea from some other painting somewhere in the room.

"Good day Mother, Father," Francis smiled at them.

"Francis!" Michael said with obvious surprise from the reflection of the mirror. "I can see you!"

"And you have your lovely curly brown hair back!" Matilda said, delighted. Michael blinked at his wife.

"Goodness, Matilda, he's always had that," Michael said, Matilda simply smiling at him in response. "So we hear you're getting married at last."

"Yes, Father," Francis said. "In an hour or so."

"Why! You shouldn't be seeing him then, it's bad luck!" Matilda declared, staring at the girl beside her. Little Francis boldly climbed up on Alicia's lap and got a hug for his efforts.

"I don't think portraits count in that, Mother," Francis said with amusement. Alicia grinned back at him and nodded in approval.

"Well, considering it's already done, I hope not," Matilda said. "And are you planning to go anywhere special after you're married?"

"To bed, more than likely," Michael said.

"Why Michael, behave yourself!" Matilda scolded him horrified, but then noticed that Alicia had been nodding fervently beside her. "Maiden Alicia! That is no way for a lady to behave!"

"We are going Elsewhere, Mother," Francis chuckled. "And that's all we're telling anyone."

"Well, don't forget to visit often when we're on display," Michael told him.

"I will talk to you again before the night is over, but don't worry, Father. I don't think Alicia would let me forget, even if I could," Francis smiled.

"She is so perfect for you, Francis," Matilda said with a warm smile. "I am so glad you'll be together at last!"

"Thank you, Mother, so am I," Francis said, bowing respectfully before working his way back to the staff room.

The next hour seemed both interminable and as quick as lightning to Francis Pyther as friends dropped in and out of the room to say hello or see how they were doing. Every time the door opened to let someone in or out, the noise in the corridor seemed a little louder, hinting to how full the Great Hall was getting. Everyone who was anyone had shown up, it seemed; as well as a small section of students who had been invited including every member of the Fifth House. It was, however, Icarus Ravenclaw who was pacing the floor at the end, keeping the same path regardless who was standing in the way, so many in the room felt the chill of him going straight through them. Every once in a while he would stick his head through the wall to see who all was in the Great Hall. Except for himself, all the ghosts of the castle were floating above the other guests' heads in ghostly seats, for none of them were about to miss their representative's send off.

"I wish I could change out of these robes," Icarus said conscientiously, acting as if he were trying to clean the poison stains off of them as he passed by the mirror.

"No one is going to be looking at you, Ick," Zack Black said, shaking his head at him.

"Good thing we don't have to worry about the best man fainting, because if he were alive, I think he might," Corey commented, grinning at Icarus.

"No, we just have to worry about the groom," Aurelius said, Francis blushing noticeably when everyone chuckled.

"Any pools going on whether or not he will?" Zack asked, another chuckle going around.

"I say one in five chance," Andrew suggested. Severus slipped in just in time to see money change hands.

"I'm not even going to ask," Severus said flatly, everyone grinning at him in response. "We're about ready, I believe. Francis, I suggest you put on your sunglasses."

"I don't really need them indoors, sir," Francis protested, getting up. But then he saw a frown on Severus' face that told Francis it was a very _strong_ suggestion and Francis obediently put them on, the thin round spectacles just enough to protect his eyes without really covering his face.

"He's going for the John Lennon thing," Ben suggested.

"Why don't you go check on the girls?" Severus suggested strongly again, and Ben excused himself. "Go ahead and take your places when you're ready," he added, leaving the room again.

"Oh boy," Francis said, Corey and Andrew looking at each other with a grin before pulling him to his feet.

"Come on, time to turn you into family," Corey grinned. "Ick, if he does faint, you have my permission to possess him so he's upright."

"I do have that talent," Icarus mused toyingly.

"Oh please, no fainting today," Francis murmured glancing up at the ceiling as he was half walked half dragged out of the room.

Attempting to ignore the packed Hall, Icarus in his usual and Francis in black robes and black tie walked to the front, followed by the rest of his escort, wearing black as well; Corey with a red tie, Andrew with orange, Aurelius with green, Zack with blue. Ben came in late with the violet tie and escorting Charles the Third, who was wearing a yellow bow tie and a killer black tux that made the audience break out into a loud 'awww' when they saw him, despite the fact he had the face of someone going to a funeral. He took his position as ring bearer quite seriously, and staring protectively at the rings like a dragon protecting its horde.

A moment later, his sisters came down the aisle in yellow lace dresses with Amber leading the way, ignoring her sister's whispers to spread out the white rose petals she carried, for she had every intention of keeping them for herself. Sighing and rolling her eyes with exasperation, Hope followed behind her, and Natalie followed carrying Destiny, who was too busy sucking her fist to really care about all the 'so cute!' murmurs around her. At the end of the line, Jennifer and Ashley were waiting in the front row to 'play catch,' grabbing the kids and seating them as they came. Rose came behind her children in a lace violet dress, Zoë in Blue, Essie in Green, and Alex in Orange, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the rather loudly cooing baby in Jennifer's arms, refusing to quiet down when he saw his mother.

Finally came Lucky in a stunning red dress covered with bows, her hair worn down and painstakingly curled without a hint of the fight she had put up with Jennifer to get her looking that way. But just as Lucky was getting to her place, a sudden bright light erupted that made everyone look up in surprise at the enchanted ceiling to see that the clouds hovering above the ghosts had suddenly parted, and beams of bright sunlight shone down on the room as bright as if they had been outside.

A tingle went down Francis' spine then before he even gazed back down again, the murmur that had began when the sunlight broke had turned into gasps as Severus led his daughter in. For the sun caught hold of the prismatic quality of the material and spread tiny colored prisms throughout the entire room, dancing in the air and on the walls as Alicia walked down the aisle, her rosy face betraying the deep breaths she was taking to try and make her way down it, despite a soft murmur from her father beside her. At the end, Corey kept a very firm hand on Francis' arm who already looked as if his head was swimming.

"Not now, Pyther," Severus murmured warningly as he put his daughter's hand in his before stepping up in front of him.

"Don't worry, Father, I'll keep him vertical," Alicia said smoothly, putting her arm around his. "For now," she added mischievously.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Francis murmured with exasperation in response.

"A bit late for second thoughts," Severus said in a low voice.

"Considering he's completely surrounded by Snapes, I don't think his chances of escaping at this point are very good," Aurelius whispered.

"Then perhaps we should begin, shall we?" Severus murmured back, taking out his wand and casting a voice spell on himself, glancing around at the others gathered in the Great Hall.

"If anyone had told me when I had first gotten married that one of my daughters was going to end up with a six hundred year old man, I never would have had children," Severus began, getting a round of chuckles in response. "Curiously enough, now that it's happened, I cannot see how she could ever be with anyone else. Many might believe it luck; a very curious set of circumstances surrounded them since before Alicia was even born. But those of you know who know me know I don't really believe in luck except that which you make for yourself," he said, glancing at his youngest daughter who smiled back at him. "Many more believe it was Fate that brought them together…it was Predestined; a match made in Heaven, or wherever you want to call it. And perhaps in some ways I see that as well," Severus admitted, glancing at Alicia and Francis to see them both listening intently, smiling when he looked their way. "But those of you who know me know I'm not really that much of a fan of Fate either, for I believe our destinies are determined only by the choices we make in life; and what follows after are simply the consequences of those decisions.

"But there is something I do believe in, and to me no other explanation truly fits," Severus said, glancing at his wife who was nodding gently to him. "For what I do believe in is miracles. I have seen a great many in my life; way too many to discount them. I have seen this world on the brink of disaster several times only to rebound stronger than before. I have seen a great many people do the same with their lives, whether the disaster was mental or physical, internal or external. I have had my own life and soul saved by a miracle. So I know enough about them to recognize this marriage could be nothing else. No longer road has ever been traveled. No greater sacrifices or calls of bravery could have been demanded. No obstacles could have been more difficult to overcome. No leaps of faith have expansed such a chasm. And no higher risk could have been taken to reach this reward. So if you happen to be one of those who happen to doubt that miracles happen, doubt no more. For in all my life, I swear I have never seen a greater miracle as this one…for so many reasons…and I feel both humbled and in absolute awe to be able to bear witness to it."

The room was very quiet when he finished speaking except for the for occasional sound of sobbing; the worst offender coming from the front row as Ashley gently took baby Janus with a smile and put a comforting arm around Jennifer, who had tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Francis Marion Pyther," Severus said, looking over to Francis who was having a difficult time keeping his own eyes clear. "Do you take Alicia to be your wife, forsaking all others; do you promise to love, comfort, honor, and listen; and to believe in her with faith and trust for all of eternity?"

"I do," Francis said, relieved he got it out the first time he tried.

"Alicia Corsiva Snape," Severus said, glancing at his daughter, who gave him a grin he hadn't seen since the last Snitch she caught to secure the House Cup in her seventh year. "Do you take Francis to be your husband, forsaking all others; do you promise to love, comfort, honor, and listen; and to believe in him with faith and trust for all of eternity?"

"I do!" Alicia said enthusiastically, feeling as if she had waited all of her life to say it.

Right on cue, Charles the Third thrust the pillow with the Dragonheart diamond wedding set at them, and Francis had to act quickly to catch them and keep them from falling off.

"Don't forget to breathe on them first to activate them," Severus said in a low voice, the two of them grinning nervously at each other as they breathed on the two rings. "Very well, Francis, repeat, 'With this ring I thee wed.'"

"With this ring, I thee wed," Francis grinned, slipping it on her finger.

"Alicia, the same," Severus said, apparently now ready to get it over with.

"With this ring, I thee wed," Alicia grinned and slipped it on his finger.

"Very well, I now pronounce you Wizard and Wife. I believe you know the rest," he added, unsurprised when Alicia took the initiative, nearly knocking Francis off his feet as the audience began to clap wildly.

"Any bets on who the next Snape to fall will be?" Zack shouted over the roar. Andrew and Aurelius gave one quick look to each other before pointing at Lucky, with Corey and Alex following suit.

"Hey!" Lucky protested loudly, the others all laughing in response.

"Do you mind? I'd like to recover from losing this daughter first," Severus scowled, earning another round of laughter as he slipped away to see Jennifer who still hadn't quite managed to get a hold of her emotions yet.

"Well, I think if Pyther is going to pass out, it'll be at any second now," Ben commented as he eyed the two kissing and glanced at his watch. But at last Alicia broke it off, grinning mischievously at him.

"I hope you're not planning to get away from me tonight, Francis Pyther," Alicia said with a challenging grin.

"Oh, no, Alicia Pyther," Francis said with a twinkle in his eye. "I'm not running from you ever again." Alicia smiled and kissed him again, but then felt a chill on her shoulder.

"And when do I get to kiss the bride?" Icarus complained, Alicia laughing at him in response.

"Right now, of course," Alicia grinned, feeling a cold tingle on her cheek when he did so.

"We can't thank you enough, Icarus, for everything you've done," Francis said fervently.

"I only played a small part, really," Icarus protested.

"Considering neither Father or Francis would be here if it wasn't for you, we emphatically disagree," Alicia said with a smile.

"Thank you. It's nice to have something I remembered turning out well for a change," Icarus said happily before excusing himself to join the other ghosts.

"That's it," Alex said.

"What?" Ben asked from where he stood beside her.

"If we ever do have another boy, I'm naming him Icarus, I don't care what Mum says," Alex said.

"Never a dull moment in this family," Corey said, shaking his head at that. Just then they heard a scream and spun around to see Tonks with the full contents of the punchbowl on her dress as a cream-colored rabbit darted out from underneath the refreshment table and zigzagged under the legs of the guests to try and get away.

"Houdini!" Lucky shouted, running after him.

"Lucky! You'll spoil your dress!" Jennifer shouted at her in annoyance as Erik and several others ran over to Tonks to check on her.

"Sorry, thought it was a rat," Tonks chuckled sheepishly.

"Good thing it wasn't the cake," Erik chuckled. Severus glanced over at it and took out his wand, quickly casting a force field on it as they cleared the chairs for the reception.

Just then he noticed Remus Lupin walking up to them with Carol close behind, but Remus had a very strange, strained smile on his face.

"I hear you were actually able to cure Francis of being a vampire, Severus," Remus said, Carol glancing at her husband with a frown. "So when are you going to get around to curing werewolves?"

"Um," Severus said, gazing at Remus' forced smile warily. "There were special circumstances involved in recovering Francis, Remus. As for the rest, I believe I will have to get back to you on that one…"

"Oh, don't worry, Severus. I won't hold you to it," Remus said, the smile still plastered on his face. "I'll just wait until one of your children or grandchildren falls in love with one of us, then I'm sure you'll get around to that," he said crisply, walking off to find Harry, while Severus simply stood there with his lips pursed.

"I'm so sorry, Severus!" Carol blurted out, blushing. "He's had a bad week," she explained before hurrying to catch up with him.

Jennifer had walked off to make Lucky lock her familiar up and change out of her good dress into her Hogwarts robes, and by the time Lucky got downstairs, many of the other students had found their way inside, gathering around a fresh bowl of punch while Tonks…also in her Hogwarts robes now…was forbidden to go anywhere near it.

"Alicia, I have decided that between the two of us we know way too many people," Francis confided to her after they had greeted several dozen people, shaking hands and listening to polite conversation that neither were interested in.

"I wholeheartedly agree," Alicia grinned at him. "I wonder when we can sneak away?"

"Well, let's go see my parents first," Francis insisted.

"Your parents?" Alicia said in surprise, and then nodded her over towards the wall, Alicia blinking in response. "How?"

"Your father, how else?" Francis chuckled, pulling her over.

But Alicia's thoughts were suddenly on her own parents, even after getting over there to speak with them. The Four Winds had somehow managed to get their instruments out and set up for dancing, but she didn't see them on the dance floor and wasn't sure where they had gone, but she did notice a very large group gathering near one of the back corners. Curious as she was to see what was going on, she knew they should stop to say hello to Thomas, Maurice and Fleur, but made a special point to be quick about it when she noticed Fleur with her hood up, using the dance floor as an excuse to get away.

Had they investigated the crowd, they would have seen that Lucky had brought out her chess set, having planned to play with Ambrose and Dale and some of the others, but had immediately found Joanie Weasley taking a seat before she had even finished setting up the board. Unfortunately, she had also set up in the corner to the punch bowl, and the moment anyone realized that Joanie Weasley was playing, they decided to stop and watch.

Jacob, easily lost in the crowd of famous names was rather wishing he had brought his autograph book had wandered through after getting the punch long enough to look over the board.

"You're Alicia's sister Lucky, aren't you? You're doing well, I see!" Jacob said, Zack staring at him in response, while Joanie snorted at him.

"I am?" Lucky said in surprise, looking at the board.

"She has you in two moves, you know," Jacob confided in Joanie. Everyone around the table was starting at him now.

"I do?" Lucky said.

"She doesn't," Joanie said, rolling her eyes at him.

"It's as plain as day!" Jacob said with a shrug.

"Here, tell me," Lucky said, trying to get him to lean down.

"Oh, no, I wouldn't want to spoil your game," Jacob said, sipping his punch.

"No, go ahead, help her. Whatever you see, I have it covered," Joanie said. Lucky tried to coax him to come over again. Jacob shrugged and leaned down, whispering in Lucky's ear while Lucky's eyes darted across the board. Finally a smile crept across her face and she moved her knight.

"Check," Lucky said. Joanie rolled her eyes.

"That was your plan?" Joanie snorted, capturing the knight. Lucky immediately moved her bishop up.

"Checkmate," Lucky said. Joanie's jaw dropped.

"There, you see? Nothing to it. You're really good for your age," Jacob told her.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Joanie said, putting up her hands in protest. "Who the hell are you?"

"Joanie, Jacob Greencastle. Jacob, this is Joanie Weasley," Jamie introduced from where she had been standing behind her friend watching the exchange.

"You mean this is that weather guy that invited the vampire pack in his house?" Joanie said pointing at him. Jacob cleared his throat, his cheeks growing warm.

"Yep."

"That was just a fluke then," Joanie said, blowing off the loss and setting it up again.

"Now how do you know?" Jacob asked with a laugh. Joanie squinted at him.

"Okay fine, let's play."

"Hey! It's my chess set!" Lucky protested.

"Fine, let us borrow it and I'll give you a galleon," Joanie said. Lucky quickly got up but didn't move until she going the coin and pocketed it. Jacob quickly finished his punch and sat down.

Five minutes later, it was over.

Francis and Alicia were busy using their time on the dance floor to plan their escape when they accidentally bumped into the ever-growing crowd around the chess table.

"What is going on over there?" Francis asked, while Alicia leaned around people to try and see.

"Oh, I should have known. It's Joanie, she's cracking good at chess," Alicia explained.

"Not anymore," said Ambrose from where he stood by Lucky and Dale watching the match. "She's been beat twice already."

"Three times if you count the one he helped me win," Lucky put in.

"Who?" Alicia said and went over to get a better look at the chess table, Francis following behind. The two of them stopped short in surprise to see Jacob sitting across from Joanie with that enthusiastic grin of his on his face, watching her with obvious interest while Joanie had her eyes on the chessboard, her brows furrowed in frustration as she slowly slid her rook forward.

"Check," she said at last. Jacob whipped his queen up to take her bishop.

"Checkmate again!" he said, the crowd breaking out in applause.

"I don't believe it, I just don't believe it," Alicia said, shaking her head and chuckling. "It seems Joanie's finally met her match."

"It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," Francis said with a smile.

"No, it couldn't have," Alicia agreed happily, then glanced around. "There's my Father, over by the cake talking to Aunt Anna. Can I have a minute? I want to tell him about the vault thing."

"Can't that wait until later?" Francis protested, not wanting to leave her side.

"Well, maybe he can help us with a game plan for getting out of here, too," Alicia grinned.

"Oh, well, in that case," Francis grinned at her, watching her walk over. He turned to look over at the chess game again when he noticed Zoë hanging in the very back of the group, watching the exchange somberly. "Hello, Zoë," he smiled. Zoë looked over in surprise and went over to him.

"What, you she left you alone for a second, how dare she?" Zoë grinned at him.

"She wanted to chat with her father is all," Francis explained with a smile.

"Yeah, that's pretty ironic, really," Zoë said, glancing over there. "I mean, all of us had our turn with Uncle Severus and tried to convince her he wasn't anything like she thought he was, but she'd have none of that."

"I believe she's figured it out now," Francis said with a smile.

"Yeah, I think you're right," Zoë agreed.

"So how are things between you and uh…the Quidditch player?" Francis asked politely.

"Oh, that," Zoë said, her face growing somber again. "It didn't work out, really, he uh…well he turned out to be a compulsive gambler. Ran up all my credit cards and um…anyhow, to make a long story short, I've moved back in with my parents for now until I straighten some things out."

"Well, that's not necessarily a bad thing," Francis smiled at her with understanding. "Even adults could use a little parental advice now and again."

"Yeah, I guess," Zoë said, watching as Anna and Sirius stepped away so Severus and Alicia could talk and went over to meet them.

"I suppose you are attempting to talk me into letting you out of here," Severus said the moment Anna and Sirius stepped away. "Well, you'll have to talk to your mother about that. There's still the cake thing and the bouquet thing to deal with…"

"Yeah, I know, and we do want to get out of here," Alicia admitted, "but that's not exactly what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh?" Severus said, wondering if he should be on his guard.

"Well, it's about the trust vault," Alicia said, Severus immediately squinting at her suspiciously. "The one I'm supposed to get next year."

"Yes, Alicia?" Severus said with a sigh.

"Well, I don't need it anymore," Alicia said, Severus staring at her in complete bewilderment. "So unless you need it for a trust for Lucky or something, you can just keep it."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Severus said, trying to recover from the shock.

"Let's see, how do I put this," Alicia mused, thoughtfully. "You know how down in the zeros' section under Gringotts they have an even lower section guarded by dragons, mostly bank investments along with a couple of insanely wealthy clients so rich they need that extra protection? Yeah, well, that's where Francis' vault is," she said. Severus' jaw dropped. "You'd be amazed at how much wealth you can accumulate even with a modest job in six hundred years, Father."

"Oh," Severus said, pulling himself together but not quite sure what to say.

"And there's one more thing I wanted to make sure I said tonight before we took off, so I guess now's probably a good time," Alicia said, glancing at where Francis was standing talking to Lucky, Ambrose and their friends.

"Yes?" Severus said warily, uncertain of if he were prepared for any more surprises that day.

"They were right," Alicia said seriously.

"Who?" Severus said in confusion.

"Everyone, really. Corey, Essie, Rel, Andrew, Alex, Phoebe, Morfinn, even Zack and Zoë told me at one point or another that you were the best professor this school has ever seen. Sorry it took me so long to figure it out," Alicia said.

"Well…" Severus began, thinking of how to continue before shrugging. "Better late than never, I suppose." Alicia grinned and hugged him enthusiastically.

"I love you, Father," Alicia said happily.

"And I you," Severus murmured quietly. Quickly she stepped back away, feeling a bit silly.

"I'd better go rescue Francis and do this stupid ritual stuff so we can get out of here," she said and walked away, leaving Severus looking so completely off balance that Jennifer excused herself from her chat with Molly and walked over to him, wrapping her arm around him.

"Well, what happened to you, Severus? You look as if you had a house fall on your head or something," Jennifer said with a smile.

"Just the ghost of a little girl I once knew," Severus murmured.

"Nonsense, Severus, that's no ghost," Jennifer smiled warmly, hugging him. "She's just come home after a very long trip, that's all."

"How strange, I never realized I missed her until now," Severus said softly.

"Well, you won't have to miss her again, she's here to stay," Jennifer smiled. "Thanks to you in many respects."

"I refuse to take any credit for my deeds in any of this. I was simply helping things along," Severus protested.

"How I love you, Severus Snape," Jennifer said happily.

"Seems to be a lot of that going around today, doesn't there?" Severus mused. Jennifer laughed at him, but got distracted as Francis and Alicia cut into an ornately decorated plate of ice cream molded to look like a lemon wedding cake. To their surprise, after sharing spoonfuls of it, they discovered it tasted like wedding cake too.

"Is there anything you haven't thought of, sir?" Francis couldn't help but ask, as Alicia was busy gathering the single women to the dais to throw the bouquet.

"I wouldn't know if I haven't, now would I?" Severus pointed out, watching with passing interest as Alicia cast the spell and threw out the bouquet, half expecting it to be Lucky or even Joanie after the exchange he had seen at the chess table. But suddenly he found himself receiving another hard shock as Tonks appeared out of the pile with the bouquet. "Oh, no," Severus said.

"Did you see that, Severus?" Jennifer said with delight. "She didn't even bobble it, not for a single second! And she caught it in one hand! Is this why she's been avoiding me all year? Does anyone know if she's seeing anyone?" she asked excitedly.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Erik Dalance said calmly as he stepped up beside Severus. Jennifer turned around to look at him, and her jaw dropped as well. "She's seeing me. And um…not that we wanted it to come out this way, Severus, but Tonks is probably not going to be able to stay on staff here another year. Conflict of interest," he explained. Severus blinked one more time and then grabbed Francis' shoulder before he could get away.

"I know you were planning to try to get put on at a primary school, Francis but…one more year?" Severus asked him pleadingly.

"Anything for you, sir," Francis said with a smile before walking over to join his wife. Severus let himself exhale.

"Just another typical wedding at Hogwarts, I suppose," Jennifer said with a smile.

"Oh, no, Jennifer. Anything but typical," Severus said with certainty, but put an arm around her as they watched Francis and Alicia sneak out the back.

Helena Weasley had a great many things on her mind the last day of school, not the least of which being the abacus she had carried from breakfast down the hall, into the library, and straight into the back room. Archimedes' head spun around to look at her from where he sat on Ambrose's shoulder, hooting at her in greeting.

"Five points!" she said with exasperation to the rest of the Fifth House members, already gathered around the table. "We're only down by five points! Isn't there five points anywhere to be had? Anywhere?"

They had had a splendid celebration when Dale Chance and the Ravenclaw team won the Quidditch Cup. There had been even more celebration when Helena, Ambrose, and Laura won their years in the sparring tournament. But the moment the Fifth House had realized how close they had in points to first place, the last few weeks had been a constant fervor of not only trying to keep up with Ravenclaw but attempt to get the lead. It had been toughest on Pimra, Laura and Dale, for any points they gained also went to Ravenclaw, making it impossible to get an edge there. Ambrose had done all he could, but Lucky had been too worried about her marks to concentrate on anything else, although Lindsay and Connie were doing their best to make up for it. But now it was the last day, the last of the tests were being posted for the year, and there were no last minute offers of help left to pick up. As much as Helena hated to admit it, she was quickly coming to the conclusion they were going to finish second.

"You know, we're really beating ourselves over the heads for no good reason at all," Dale protested when he looked around the room at all the glum faces. "I mean seriously, we were competing with hundreds of other students and there's only eight of us, and look at what we accomplished this year," Dale said, taking the abacus from Lena and holding it up. Boulderdash slipped in the door and quietly closed it behind him, watching them curiously. "Not only the points either, but we made marks a lot of the other students didn't come close to in our years. And look at Ambrose, he published an academic paper and he isn't even in third year yet!"

"Ambrose is hardly a normal student in any case," Lindsay pointed out, glancing at where the young boy sat petting his wooden owl distractedly.

"None of us are normal students, Lindsay, or we wouldn't be here right now," Dale said firmly. "And I don't think anyone here should bellyache over a lousy five point deficit. Considering this house didn't even exist last year, I think second place is an absolutely outstanding accomplishment."

"I agree," Ambrose said with a nod, then saw Helena with her head in her hand. "Especially you, Lena. We wouldn't have gotten anywhere near those points if it hadn't been for your efforts."

"Thanks, Ambrose," Helena said, despite the fact she still looked down. Just then, Boulderdash cleared his throat, and they all looked up at him curiously.

"I really hate to burst your bubble, when its obvious now that you're all set on second place," Boulderdash said with a toothy sneer, glancing at the paper in his hand. "But I have something I'm supposed to deliver to Lucky."

"Oh, no, now what did you do?" Helena said with exasperation.

But Lucky shrugged at her, taking the paper and opening it, a lopsided grin appearing on her face.

"'Ey, it's my Defense final! I got a perfect score, guess that means I finally get to use that MP3 player," Lucky said.

"All right, well done, Lucky!" Dale said enthusiastically, the others joining in until Boulderdash cleared his throat again.

"You may also find it of interest that some professors tend to give points for acing their finals, by the way," Boulderdash said evenly. "She couldn't find you earlier, so she asked me to tell you that she is giving you ten points, Miss Snape."

"Did anyone else ace any tests we don't know about yet?" Helena asked, slowly standing up.

"Actually, I decided after I heard about it to do a bit of, shall we say, research of my own. From what I understand from all four corners, short of some surprise points from the Headmaster, which has been known to happen on occasion, the point totals are final now," Boulderdash said, walking over to his desk and sitting down.

"We did it! Lucky, thanks to you, we actually did it!" Ambrose jumped up excitedly, and the eight of them got up and ended up hugging each other and shaking hands and otherwise congratulating each other excitedly before finally taking their seats again. Archimedes, who had taken flight in the excitement, landed on Boulderdash's desk, deciding it was a safer perch.

"You all do realize, of course, that there is no way that the Headmaster could possibly acknowledge the House as first place, you know," Boulderdash pointed out when they settled down, lacing his hands over his stomach. "For one thing, we're not official in any single capacity, and for another, those points have all been totaled to the regular houses as well, so it isn't as if they actually belong to you precisely."

"But we still earned them, all the same," Ambrose said firmly. "And maybe they can't acknowledge it, but no matter what happens, we will know we did it, and that's all that really matters, isn't it?"

"It's been a fantastic year," Lindsay agreed with a grin.

"I can't believe it's over, though, I can't wait to get back here next year!" Pimra said enthusiastically. It was then that Helena's face suddenly fell, just when everyone was about to start talking about what they wanted to do for the summer.

"Wait a minute guys," Helena sighed, glancing at Dale, who nodded to her encouragingly. "There's something we need to still talk about here. Because…because I can't be in the Fifth House next year."

"What!" Ambrose said, jumping up again upset, while the others had gasped in surprised or put in their own protests. "You're going to leave us? Just pack up and quit on your house, just like that?"

"That's just the problem, Ambrose!" Helena said, raising her voice so everyone quieted. "I can't quit on my house. My real house, Slytherin," she said. Ambrose sat back down, looking hurt. "Look, I love you guys, and I love spending time with all of you, and I wouldn't have given up this year for anything, because I've learned a lot from you guys, and I don't mean just schoolwork," she added, looking over at her sister. "But I've been asked to take over as Tiebreaker for my year and I plan on taking it. Because as weird as it sounds, over the year I've spent with you guys, I began to understand and appreciate my real house more and why I'm in it. I like setting impossible goals and watching everyone's jaw drop when I reach them. I like learning how to fight my way to the top, and I like knowing that I don't have to be another Weasley if I don't want to be. In fact, as rough as my life was when we first started this year, now they've not only accepted me as a Slytherin, but I've become one, and as stupid as it probably sounds, I have you guys to thank for a lot of that."

"Ya," Lucky said with a nod, the others glancing at her curiously. Lucky shrugged. "I know what you mean. I had a rough year last year, and I thought I'd never fit in any house. Now it's not so bad," Lucky said, glancing at Connie. "I've made some friends, and they don't resent me for being a Snape anymore. I kind of like being a Gryffindor now."

"I had a really rough start this year," Connie admitted apologetically, "but I like my house too."

"I just wanted to make friends, really," Pimra admitted in a low voice.

"You have," Laura assured her. Pimra nodded.

"And I really am looking forward to next year, but I like my house now too," she added.

"Come to think of it, so do I," Ambrose sighed, glancing at Lindsay who smiled. "Heck, I'm even starting to like Delia, although she's a lot nicer when she's being herself instead of trying to impress someone. And I guess I understand why you'd want to leave, Lena, since you don't have anyone else in your house in here."

"It's not that, Ambrose, not at all," Helena said fervently, looking depressed. "I'd do practically anything to keep this group going, but I can't let down my other house either."

"Maybe you don't have to," Dale said, looking over at Ambrose when they all looked over at him. "Someone once told Ambrose and I that what we have here is less like a house and more like an order. Maybe instead of pretending to be a house, we should concentrate on becoming something more permanent. I mean, really, we're only in a house for seven years. I'd like to think our friendships could go beyond that, and our goals for that matter."

"Our goals?" Pimra asked.

"Sure, like helping each other," Lindsay said.

"Doing what we can to improve ourselves and help others improve themselves," Laura put in.

"How about promoting cooperation and the exchange of ideas between houses?" Connie suggested, gazing at her sister.

"Or any other groups for that matter," Dale put in.

"And helping those feeling left out to find a place?" Pimra asked slowly. Dale smiled.

"You see, we already got the elements we would need to write up a charter for an order," Dale said. "What do you think, Lena? If we were a separate student organization and you wouldn't have to do anything against your house to do it, you'd still be in, right?"

"I don't know," Helena said. "Maybe they'd buy it if we were some sort of official school organization or something."

"Maybe our old house advisor might put in a good word for us?" Ambrose suggested, looking over at Boulderdash who was pretending to read despite the fact that Archimedes was attempting to turn the pages on him.

"I might," Boulderdash mused. "Although I also might point out you still need a name."

"Well, considering who our new mascot is," Dale said, grinning at the wooden owl who was still trying to get into mischief by reading over the goblin's shoulder, "I think I have the perfect suggestion, and one that everyone can live with."

So it was after nine hands had been raised (it was decided by all concerned that Boulderdash deserved the right to vote as well) the Order of the Owl was born. And after much debate…when they had decided either everyone would wear them or noone…the eight students proudly wore their brown and rose gold armbands that night to dinner, including Helena despite her refusal to answer her house's question about why she was wearing it.

Blue and Bronze were the colors of the evening, despite the fact that the new order knew better. They proudly exchanged private smiles to each other across tables as they went to their places. At last the staff began to wander in and stand behind their seats, chatting about how the year went, both good and bad, until at last Headmaster Snape entered, followed closely behind by Librarian Boulderdash, who was wearing a new brown cape with rose gold trim.

"Do you see what I see?" Connie whispered in surprise, Lucky nodding slowly and wondering where he got it. Ambrose wanted to know where he got it too and wondered that he hadn't thought about ever giving him an armband, while at the Ravenclaw table, Dale clapped Pimra and Laura on the shoulder and whispered something to his friend Bobby before looking over at Helena, who looked stunned but otherwise hadn't made a move. Just then, Professor Snape said something to Craw, who nodded and smiled in return and the faculty shifted down a space so that Boulderdash could sit by the Headmaster.

"What is that all about?" Bobby wondered at the Ravenclaw table.

"If I'm not mistaken, it's Snape's way of acknowledging what the Fifth House did this year," Dale said.

"I still say it was a waste of time," Bobby snorted at him. "But at least we still won the cup." Laura and Pimra gave him dirty looks.

"Good evening," Severus said, glancing over the students thoughtfully. "This has been…well it's been…" he paused. "It has been a year," he said dryly, a few of the students exchanging grins at that. "In fact, there are days when I am walking through the halls that I can still hear creaking backs of students recovering from that first semester, although I trust, you are recovering. I'm not so certain all of your parents will, however," he added, several of them chuckling at that. "Nevertheless, despite the challenges, you all have excelled to new levels of excellence, none more so than Ravenclaw, I see," he mused, glancing at the points and a polite round of applause going up. "For those of you moving on after this year, I hope you do well in your new fields of study, whatever they may be. Life is a never-ending teacher, you will find, although some lessons come harder than others. And for those coming back; No, being abroad all summer is no excuse not to have your summer homework done, nor is football camp, nor spending it on a fishing boat, nor getting your first summer job, nor is it having a completely booked European summer tour," he said, his eyes flicking over to Dale who grinned sheepishly back. "Not that those all weren't generalized excuses, of course," he added. Jennifer had a difficult time keeping a straight face. "Oh, very well, I suppose I'm done. Congratulations to the first place Houses. You may begin now," Severus said, sitting down. Helena blinked at him.

"Did he say Houses?" Connie asked Lucky.

"What did he say?" Ambrose asked, wondering if he imagined it.

"Did you hear that?" Dale asked Laura, despite the fact that Ravenclaw was too busy cheering for themselves to hear even each other at the moment. But as their plates appeared and they turned back around, Dale, Laura and Pimra gaped in surprise, for sitting in the middle of their plates were tiny gold trophy cups shaped like Owls and filled with Bertie Botts Beans.

"What are those for?" Bobby wanted to know, and some of the other students who had been cheering suddenly looked down the table curiously at them.

"Mine reads, 'Order of the Owl, Ravenclaw Representative," Pimra said in surprise.

"Mine says 'Study Habits Administrator,'" Laura laughed.

"Mine just says 'Student Advisor,'" Dale said. The three of them turned around then to look at the other tables, as Lucky stared at her 'Vice Chairman' cup, while Connie, Lindsay and Helena all had Representative cups in their houses, although none more appreciative than Helena, who suddenly broke into a wide smile, finally willing to show the others. But when Ambrose picked up his 'Chairman' cup to look at it closer, he suddenly noticed a neatly rolled parchment tied off with a brown ribbon underneath.

"What is that?" Lindsay asked, making sure there wasn't anything under hers. Ambrose shrugged and opened it, blinked at it, and then gaped at it before laughing in excitement. "What? What?" Lindsay asked impatiently.

"It's our charter! It's our charter for the Order of the Owl becoming an official student organization! 'To promote personal growth, good study habits, cooperation and better relations between houses' and it's signed by Headmaster Snape, Professor Weasley, and Librarian Boulderdash! We're official!"

Ambrose and Lindsay suddenly jumped up and hugged one another across the table before leaning over to talk to the other houses, mouthing words and even sometimes raising their voices to get their point across so all eight of them were aware of it.

"What ever is going on down there?" Hermione asked, tsking and shaking her head.

"I have no idea," Severus said with a shrug. "And where did all those curious gold cups come from?" he wondered, ignoring the way Jennifer was grinning at him.

"I don't know, but they are rather quaint, aren't they?" Boulderdash decided, glancing over his 'Order of the Owl Faculty Advisor' cup.

"Does that mean he counts as being on the advisor board now?" Danny asked curiously.

"As if I hadn't been all year," Boulderdash said dryly.

"Well, I don't care who is responsible. I think it was a fantastic gesture for a lot of hard work," Jennifer said emphatically, picking at her plate distractedly before chuckling softly and shaking her head. "Great stars, it really has been a 'year,' hasn't it, Severus?"

"Simply ghastly in many respects," Severus agreed. "And yet strangely enough, I wouldn't have traded it for anything."

Jennifer smiled knowingly at him, glad to see him happy for a change. And change was something she knew they were going to have to learn to embrace in the months to come.


	45. Epilogue

_A/N **Third** and last update for the day. _

Epilogue

Jennifer was busy packing her office for the trip home when Hermione suddenly rushed into the room as white as a sheet.

"Jennifer, you have got to come see this," Hermione said. Jennifer looked up and read her face wide-eyed before following on her heels, the two of them practically racing each other to the gate.

Immediately upon getting there, Jennifer saw the baby carriage. Hermione and Jennifer exchanged looks.

"Cover me," Jennifer advised.

"What, do you think he's going to spit poison at you or something?" Hermione said with exasperation, but got out her wand anyway as Jennifer cautiously checked on the baby.

"It's a girl. Almost six months by the look of her," Jennifer said, making sure there weren't any strange devices in the crib. "Aha! Here's a note," she said, taking it out.

"Wait! Don't open that unless someone is covering you," Severus said as he ran up. Hermione rolled her eyes at him too.

"Who's going to trap a baby?" Hermione wanted to know, but Severus still took out his wand and watched as Jennifer carefully opened a note.

"Why me?" Jennifer exclaimed.

"Why are you saying my line?" Severus asked impatiently.

"'Please take care of Gloria. She is the daughter of a Hogwarts Professor, and I know the school will look after her. If he attempts to deny it, simply ask him to remember Brighton Beach. I am sorry, but I just can't take care of her myself right now, but I know I am leaving her in good hands.' That's it, it's not signed," Jennifer said, Hermione wincing. "Severus, you don't think…"

"Well, who in the hell else could it be, Jennifer?" Severus snapped. "Wait here," he said, storming in the castle and up to the Transfiguration room where Andrew was busy packing his own equipment. "Mr. Snape," Severus said in a tone that made Andrew stare at him. "Have you ever on occasion taken any of your dates to Brighton Beach?"

"On occasion, yes, why do you…"

"And do you happen, by any chance, to supplement your nocturnal habits with Oat's Bane made by the Minute Alchemist Company?" Severus interrupted.

"Sometimes, sure, they're the only ones that give me a discount for bulk orders," Andrew said with a shrug. Severus closed his eyes for a moment. "Something wrong, Professor?" Andrew asked carefully. Severus opened his eyes and gave Andrew such a forced smile that he wondered what sort of rumor was circulating this time.

"Follow," Severus said, and strode out at a pace that really made Andrew wonder.

"Am I getting sacked?" Andrew asked worriedly.

"Possibly," Severus said bluntly.

"Oh. Can I ask why?" Andrew asked nervously as they walked outside. But Severus didn't say another word until they got to the buggy where Jennifer stood holding a golden haired baby girl.

"I think I have some paperwork to do," Hermione said, quickly making tracks, while Severus and Jennifer stood and stared at their son accusingly.

"Oh, no," Andrew said at last, finally figuring out what was going on, his hand coming up and pulling his hair. "Oh, no, no, NO! Don't look at me like that…it's not mine! I didn't even want kids! I didn't want to be a weekend parent, that's why I vowed never to get married in the first place! There's no way that can be mine!" Severus and Jennifer gazed at him critically. "You do believe me, don't you?" They turned and glanced at each other. Suddenly, Jennifer smiled and held the baby out to him until he took it. "Oh, come on, you could try to believe your own son. She doesn't even look anything like me…wait, you're not going to leave me alone with her?"

"Yes, Andrew, that's exactly what we're doing," Severus said curtly, taking Jennifer by the arm and walking her back inside. "All the sudden I have the suspicion I'm going to have one of those working holidays, now why is that?" Severus muttered.

"Do you suppose it really is his daughter?" Jennifer wondered.

"Well at this point we have no way of really knowing, do we?" Severus sighed. "Either way, would it be too much to ask that he learn something from the experience?"

"Either way, would it too much to ask if we take a page out of Alicia's book for a few days and find a bit of 'Elsewhere' for ourselves before the board finds out?" Jennifer suggested.

"What a brilliant suggestion. I'll get Alex on the shell and ask if she'll watch Fortuna so we can make a quick escape," Severus said.

Andrew watched his parents disappear in the school, still holding the child at arms length, not quite trusting it, not quite knowing what to do. One thing was certain. It was likely to be a long, long summer.

The End

_A/N So that's it...grin. And I suppose some of you are wondering about leaving you a bit hanging there with this ending...so I'm sure it won't surprise you I have future plans for this new series. In fact, I have the next title for you; it'll be called _Jennifer Craw and the Ring of Silence_, and the book is about Craw heritage...and the darkest part of it, in fact. And for that reason, as well as several other things that comes out and certain other tragedies in the book, I'll warn you now, it's likely to be a very dark book...not as dark as thirteen maybe...(some things just can't be topped, really) but pretty dang close. Fortunately, I'll follow up with a much lighter novel if all goes well, but I won't tease you with that yet. I do hope you plan to stay to read the next one, however. I'm not far along yet, and as you know I like to get eight or so chapters in before I release the first one. In the meantime I'll probably be working on the reedits I need to do on the series, like the name thing. Anyhow, thanks for the supports and reviews over the series! JCWriter.  
_


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